Mobile Phone Geeks; HTC HD2 or iPhone 3GS

[Night_raven]

Thankyou, I was particularly concerned about the passport, as at one point, I thought it had gone,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Noooooooooooooo!

 

 

Greg.

 

That actually proved to be quite succesful. So that's why we're keeping it on. We don't advertise it much, but then again we just slip it into the customers price plan, so when they ask "What's that? *Points to VP*" I just tell em that if they go abroad as often or as little as they do, then they can make cheap calls back home.

 

They're not paying any extra for it, so why worry eh?

 

If you wanna make international calls from the UK to abroad, then you need International set up.

[greg]

That actually proved to be quite succesful. So that's why we're keeping it on. We don't advertise it much, but then again we just slip it into the customers price plan, so when they ask "What's that? *Points to VP*" I just tell em that if they go abroad as often or as little as they do, then they can make cheap calls back home.

 

They're not paying any extra for it, so why worry eh?

 

If you wanna make international calls from the UK to abroad, then you need International set up.

I've used PP since it first came out. Excellent for keeping in touch, while out of the country. .75 a hit is a bit of a pain if you don't actually get through but when ever that has happened, I've pointed it out & they remove it from the bill.

 

Which is great.

 

I'd better stop now, 'cos I am actually a walking advert for Vodafone. I think it's a sign of maturity. Growd ups use vodafone, kids use the others.

 

 

Greg.

[Pilko]

Pilko;

 

Not much, heck i wouldn't even recommend using "TV Catchup" on the Iphone...(useful info)

 

Have to say cheers for pointing that out Night Raven, I totally forgot Vodaphone had the iPhone and it seems the best deal on the lowest price package! Though I'll see what Orange retentions can offer me before I make the jump.

[Xaccers]

As a bolt on yes. Try doing that on a normal O2 contract. Far as i know, O2 whack that bolt on, onto the Iphone price plans. Which end up as part of the plan.

 

Got unlimited internet bolt on for free when I got my HD.

I know people who were iPhone users, got the HD2 and haven't touched their iPhones for months.

WM7 sucks, no cut and paste, no multitasking and a bloody awful interface.

I'll be going for the HD2 when my time is up, unless SPB release a version of their moble shell for WM7 and someone else re-instates cut and paste.

As for apps, retailers like Handango have been around for years before apple decided to try and convince the world they invented PDA phones.

[galactica]

where do they claim that then Xaccers? I mean, I had a Treo 180 in 2002, so why would they be doing that?

 

They don't really do that do they? They just made them better to use.

[Night_raven]

where do they claim that then Xaccers? I mean, I had a Treo 180 in 2002, so why would they be doing that?

 

They don't really do that do they? They just made them better to use.

 

 

'Cause the Iphone isn't a "Brilliant phone" as millions of peeps make it out to be.

 

It's pretty basic, sure it has a good touch screen and a big App store, but that's pretty much about it.

 

What it has, it's what it's good at. What it doesn't have, it's struggleing. Oh, and the bluetooth is pure sh*te on an Iphone.

[Chimpy]

'Cause the Iphone isn't a "Brilliant phone" as millions of peeps make it out to be.

 

It's pretty basic, sure it has a good touch screen and a big App store, but that's pretty much about it.

 

What it has, it's what it's good at. What it doesn't have, it's struggleing. Oh, and the bluetooth is pure sh*te on an Iphone.

 

So it's good at what it has and isn't good at what it doesn't have? Odd how that works.

 

The reason everyone thinks it's ace is that the multi-touch screen and interface is great. Not everyone is a power user (e.g. I don't use bluetooth at all) and just wants something that works. Also the app store is simple, heavily supported and at a good price point.

 

I've used mine for quite a while now and love the little doodad.

 

Pros:

- Great interface.

- Great Apps, mines mostly loaded up with a couple of eBook apps, a clinometer and a ton of games.

- Good web browsing, quite a lot of the time I'll use the iPhone in preference to my laptop for quick tasks.

 

Cons:

- I use it so much the battery doesn't last long.

- Text messaging gets slow when the sent message buffer is big.

- Call quality isn't great.

- I'd like a better App store, its functional and whatnot but suffers from a lot of noise.

 

For my requirements of a phone, text-messaging, web browsing, gaming, podcasts and music it works perfectly. The reason millions of peeps reckon its brilliant is probably similar.

 

You come across as someone that maybe wants to do a bit more with their palmtop so I can see why some of the limitations of the iPhone would be annoying. Thing to remember though is that as a joe consumer device those things don't matter.

 

I'd definitely still consider getting an Android based palmtop but the iPhone was free and works great for the moment.

[Night_raven]

So it's good at what it has and isn't good at what it doesn't have? Odd how that works.

 

The reason everyone thinks it's ace is that the multi-touch screen and interface is great. Not everyone is a power user (e.g. I don't use bluetooth at all) and just wants something that works. Also the app store is simple, heavily supported and at a good price point.

 

I've used mine for quite a while now and love the little doodad.

 

Pros:

- Great interface.

- Great Apps, mines mostly loaded up with a couple of eBook apps, a clinometer and a ton of games.

- Good web browsing, quite a lot of the time I'll use the iPhone in preference to my laptop for quick tasks.

 

Cons:

- I use it so much the battery doesn't last long.

- Text messaging gets slow when the sent message buffer is big.

- Call quality isn't great.

- I'd like a better App store, its functional and whatnot but suffers from a lot of noise.

 

For my requirements of a phone, text-messaging, web browsing, gaming, podcasts and music it works perfectly. The reason millions of peeps reckon its brilliant is probably similar.

 

You come across as someone that maybe wants to do a bit more with their palmtop so I can see why some of the limitations of the iPhone would be annoying. Thing to remember though is that as a joe consumer device those things don't matter.

 

I'd definitely still consider getting an Android based palmtop but the iPhone was free and works great for the moment.

 

Oh shush you.

 

And agree'd, it does have a user friendly interface. Which makes it stand out from the crowd.

 

I've seen peeps alot older than me using it, which goes to show.

 

I'm personally waiting for the Sony Ericsson X10 to come out, 1GHz processor running android. I've played on one, and it's very responsive.

 

[Stealthbomber]

To save starting a new thread...

 

Anybody know of a decent insurance policy for mobile phones?

 

My last 2 phones have been Smartphones.

The first one got nicked last year and the HTC Touch 3G I replaced it with has just died (under dubious circumstances*).

Now there's a couple of decent app's that allow me to run Excel spreadsheets on an iPhone I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and purchase an iPhone 3GS.

 

Looking back, the cost of keeping myself in phones is starting to become rather high.

Having just spent £400-odd on an unlocked iPhone, I'd like to insure it in case something dodgy happens.

 

 

* FYI, I let the battery on my HTC Touch run almost all the way down last week.

I plugged it in to charge it up, came back a couple of hours later and found the screen was all white with a tiny black blob right in the middle and (dunno if this is related) the phone was considerably warmer than it normally gets when charging.

I couldn't get the display to show anything sensible.

Much resetting and switching on and off got the display back but with a spider-web of cracks across it and a garbled display.

Worst fears confirmed; the LCD panel has cracked.

Since then it's got worse and now, after the phone goes into sleep mode, it won't power up again without resetting it.

 

Dunno if this happened because I let the battery go flat and it caused a problem when recharging it again but I'm sorry to see it go. It was a terrifically useful phone in a tiny package.

[Chimpy]

I just use the insurance with the carrier.

[Stealthbomber]

I just use the insurance with the carrier.

Uhuh.

 

I was wondering if that might limit the appeal of 3rd-party schemes.

For a variety of reasons I prefer to use a PAYG phone so there's no insurance from the service provider.

 

Google seems to suggest there's a variety of independant insurance schemes around but I was wondering if anybody's had any experience with them or has any advice etc.

 

 

If anybody cares, I found it was getting to be a huge PITA to claim back the use of my phone as corporate expenses.

My contract gave me a bunch of free peak minutes, which I'd use making business calls, but then the company would refuse to pay for line rental or the private calls I made on paid off-peak minutes.

 

In the end it I was subsidising the company to the tune of a couple of hundred quid a month and it became simpler to use a PAYG phone and then just claim for every top-up I purchase.

Gotta love bureaucracy.

[Chimpy]

Sounds rubbish!

 

Urrm, home contents insurance might be worth a shot. Mine certainly covers things like my laptop out of the house.

[galactica]

My Barclays Premier bank account offers cover for high value phones and laptops etc.

[Stealthbomber]

Cheers.

 

I shall investigate stuff like house insurance etc but I suspect that you need to declare high-value items beforehand.

Also, I've heard horror stories of people who've claimed on their house insurance for summat like an XBox and the next year their premiums had rocketed.

 

If I can get a standalone policy for £2.50 a month which'll cover me for a £300 phone I think it'll be better than claiming on the H&C policy and, possibly, seeing my premiums go up by £1000 a year or summat.

 

I could pay the standalone policy for 3 or 4 years (or more) and it'll still and it'll still be less than the cost of a replacement phone should my iPhone bite the dust.

[galactica]

i claimed on my house policy for £1600 of laptop destroyed, and premiums changed only a morsel. (Direct Line).

 

[Stealthbomber]

Another random iPhone question...

 

I'm a little concerned about the battery life of the iPhone so I am looking at the solar powered doohickeys (as seen HERE) available.

 

The descriptions always seem to be a little vague.

 

Anybody know, for sure, if these things are simply a charger or if they're a battery pack that can be charged by solar power?

The description lists it as having a capacity of 800mAh which suggests it's a battery but I'm always wary of vague descriptions that don't outright say it's a battery pack.

 

If it IS a battery I like the idea of buying a couple of them so I can leave them in a window during the day and use them at night.

If it's just a charger I'm not so keen on the idea of plugging it in and leaving a £400 phone in a window all day.

 

[Chimpy]

Looks like a solar rechargeable battery to me.

[Marlowe]

I've been converted to androids myself, as everyone who attended MA will attest. IRC, SNES and even a phone at times!

[Harmless]

Just on the insurance issue. My receptionist didn't insure her 3Gs 16gb and dropped in in the loo ( why do women keep dropping phones in the loo?). When she went to the Apple store to see what they could do, they check out the phone and then sold her reconditioned one for £140, pulled her data off the old phone and restored it to her new one. One very relieved woman, who now backups her phone

[Xaccers]

I've been converted to androids myself, as everyone who attended MA will attest. IRC, SNES and even a phone at times!

 

Have you got the application/hack which lets you install things to the SD card rather than the internal memory?

[galactica]

Just on the insurance issue. My receptionist didn't insure her 3Gs 16gb and dropped in in the loo ( why do women keep dropping phones in the loo?). When she went to the Apple store to see what they could do, they check out the phone and then sold her reconditioned one for £140, pulled her data off the old phone and restored it to her new one. One very relieved woman, who now backups her phone

 

 

There are SO MANY people (yes, women) who drop their phones in the loo/sink etc, that the iPhone has moisture indicators inside it, visible with an optician's magnifying torchy thing. I've sat and watched a woman in an Apple store complaining that her phone wouldn't work for no reason, and the shopdude looked inside it and explained what might have happened, as the moisture indicators had gone red. She blushed really furiously. Her husband was not happy.

[mattmanic]

as the moisture indicators had gone red.

 

I think my HTC HD has one of those on the battery. It's a small white section with red lines across it. I just got it wet to check and it went totally red. So if that's it's moisture sensor then there's an easy way getting it repaired under warranty if you drop it in water. Just change the battery. I can't imagine they wouldn't've thought of that though.

[galactica]

the sort of person (woman) who drops their (her) expensive phone in the toilet is probably not going to be investigating, buying and changing batteries. So this knowledge will remain in the gentlemanly arena, I think.

 

Off topic, really, but I think how they do it is that the are in a bar/pub, queuing for a cubicle, and so are texting/checking mail etc, then when the cubicle becomes free they slip it into the back pocket of their jeans. Then they undo their jeans while about to hover over the loo, and the phone slides neatly out of the pocket into oblivion.

[Stealthbomber]

Just been reading about this, oddly enough.

 

Most phones have a moisture indicator somewhere inside them these days.

Apparently the iPhone has them located by the docking connector and the headphone jack which means that they're far more likely to be exposed to ambient moisture; that is rain or sweat etc.

Lots of people have complained that their moisture sensors turned red in day-to-day use and then Apple use it as an excuse to not honour the warranty should the phone eventually go wrong.

 

Also, I must admit, I've dropped a couple of phones out of pockets.

Usually it happens if I leave it in the top pocket of a pair of overalls. Lean forward and off it goes.

[greg]

There are SO MANY people (yes, women) who drop their phones in the loo/sink etc, that the iPhone has moisture indicators inside it, visible with an optician's magnifying torchy thing. I've sat and watched a woman in an Apple store complaining that her phone wouldn't work for no reason, and the shopdude looked inside it and explained what might have happened, as the moisture indicators had gone red. She blushed really furiously. Her husband was not happy.

Classic example. Just to confirm that 'moisture damage' is not covered under most warranties, but IS covered by most phone insurance policies.

 

I think my HTC HD has one of those on the battery. It's a small white section with red lines across it. I just got it wet to check and it went totally red. So if that's it's moisture sensor then there's an easy way getting it repaired under warranty if you drop it in water. Just change the battery. I can't imagine they wouldn't've thought of that though.

It is unusual to find the indicator on the battery ONLY. You will probably find another, somewhere on the circuit board.

 

Just been reading about this, oddly enough.

 

Most phones have a moisture indicator somewhere inside them these days.

Apparently the iPhone has them located by the docking connector and the headphone jack which means that they're far more likely to be exposed to ambient moisture; that is rain or sweat etc.

Lots of people have complained that their moisture sensors turned red in day-to-day use and then Apple use it as an excuse to not honour the warranty should the phone eventually go wrong.

 

Also, I must admit, I've dropped a couple of phones out of pockets.

Usually it happens if I leave it in the top pocket of a pair of overalls. Lean forward and off it goes.

Agreed, you will be hard pressed to find a modern 'trendy' phone that doesn't have some sort of moisture indicator. They are very sensitive & will be triggered with continued exposure to a 'moist' atmosphere such as a bathroom or kitchen. Experiments such as leaving your phone in the pocket of clothing, left on the bathroom floor, while you take a shower, or placing a phone within 1m of a boiling kettle, have triggered these sensors. This is not reversible & manufacturers will use this as a reason not to repair, even if the actual problem is not related. I have a mate who works in a repair center & the first thing they do, is check & reject any with a 'turned' sensor, no matter what the problem with the phone.

 

This is why I have currently turned my back on the smart phones & opted for the Samsung B2100. At least, until the 'smart' stuff, catches up, in the durability league.

 

 

Greg.