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 don’t need the newest model, it can even be second hand or
“copy from China”, 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
friend’s 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 friend’s 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 didn’t 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 doesn’t have
Bluetooth, but wifi. Will this be possible? Even better: write SMS on my laptop’s
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 “copy from China”)? 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 I’m 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!

 

 

 

[bkkguy]

 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).

 

Google has recently removed the PlanetRomeo/GayRomeo app from their Play app store because of nudity, the official Microsoft policy for Windows Phone apps guidelines specify apps must not include "Sex / Nudity – Images that are sexually suggestive or provocative (e.g. sexually provocative touching, bondage, masturbation); provocative images that reveal nipples, genitals, buttocks, or pubic hair." and apps have been banned for this, and the RIM policy is similar for apps in the Blackberry app marketplace

 

so having ruled out all the major smartphone OSes I think Nokia still has a few handsets that run Symbian OS (not really smartphones), and Samsung has a few smartphone handsets running their proprietary Bada OS - good luck with finding one with the apps you want but the life of the righteous is never easy!

 

one of the advantages of Android is that it does optionally support installing apps from sources other than the official Google Play app store - and Google rightly says you do this at your own risk, but Planet Romeo has already indicated they intend to offer an Android app with full access to nude images available directly from their website

 

and as for removable batteries that is not OS dependent but manufacturer/model dependent - Samsung, HTC, etc supply a variety Android handsets and tablets, some have removable batteries, some do not!

 

 

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)?

 

Perhaps it is time to get a new friend - or perhaps ask him how you buy an iOS app without having an "Apple" account, or a RIM app, or a Windows Phone app etc

 

do you (or your friend) use Google search? gmail? g+? chrome?and what information does Google collect from you from these services? and how do they try to tie it to your Android app purchases?

 

do you (or your friend) use bing? hotmail? outlook live? IE? and what information does Microsoft collect from you from these services? and how do they try to tie it to your Windows app purchases?

 

do you (or your friend) use Apple mail? itunes? safari?  and what information does Apple collect from you from these services? and how do they try to tie it to your iOS app purchases?

 

do you (or your friend) use facebook? if yes they why are you bothered about what data other "free" service providers collect about you - you have already sold your soul!

 

 

Do you have any recommendation on which model to buy and

what to pay attention to (especially for second hand or “copy from China”)?

 

given the number of reasonably priced low-end to mid-range smartphones with local and international warranty and service available from legitimate retail stores in Thailand I don't really understand why people need to resort to second-hand, grey market or "copy from China" smartphones!

 

go to J-Mart, TG Phone, even AIS and ask about a cheap low-end smartphone and data packages available for your 123-Call account - they are not going to white-slave you into buying a galaxy S4 or an iPhone 5 and a 1,000 Baht a month data packege!

 

 

bkkguy

[Guest]

Android has to be the way to go.  The best selling phone OS will have access to the most apps.

That's the easy part. 

 

The hardware is the part which requires some thought.

[KhorTose]

A used Galaxy II would be fairly inexpensive at the moment or a Note II tablet. Wait a few months and the Galaxy four will be out and then the two and the three will be even cheaper. On the Galaxy you can use Kies air top communicate (exchange data and files) with your PC or tablet or whatever using WIFI. The rest of the things you want are all free apps that you can download from Google.

[bkkguy]

Wait a few months and the Galaxy four will be out

 

you mean the S4 Mini? the S4 ruggedised? the S4 dual SIM (recently released in China)?

 

the S4 has been in the shops since 3 May in Thailand

 

and forget Kies Air - check out AirDroid

 

bkkguy