any mobile phone experts here?what to get next

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I'm on my second iPhone - bought the original 2G iPhone the day after launch ( once the queues had died down ) and kept it until the 3GS was launched , at which point I got a 16GB 3G as a free upgrade , only because the TomTom app had been announced as I was otherwise happy with the 2G , which no1 daughter is now using . Have subsequently found that the TomTom car kit adds GPS functionality to the 2G , but hey-ho , that would have cost me £100 while the upgrade was free .

Having been a Mac User for the last 20+ years ( never owned a PC ) it is a no-brainer for me as integration is so much more seamless via Mobile Me than with any other mobile device : Mail , Calendar , Safari Bookmarks , Contacts and more sync automatically between the iPhone , desktop and laptop without requiring any actionat all from me .

Prior to the iPhone , I had a couple of Treo's and before that a Handspring Visor , all of which would 'hotsync' with the Macs but involved a bit of work and a bit of setting up .

Nowadays the iPhone works well as a phone (Thb Bury carkit is very good) , satnav , mobile email and internet device , calendar , pocket TV , camera , iPod , notebook and has a fair few other useful apps besides quite a lot of useless ones .

I won't knock Treos , Nokias etc as so much comes down to personal choice , but I'm happy with what I've got .

Oh , re the iTunes question - you are not tied to PURCHASING music from the iTunes store , although the iTunes app on your computer is neccessary to manage and update the phone . As has been said , it is easy to rip music from CD into iTunes then sync to the iPhone . I should probably not even whisper that someone could just as easily download music from anywhere on the internet and , by opening the files with iTunes , import songs into their iTunes library then sync onto iPhone ( subject , of course , to copyright restrictions ;) ) .
 
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Iphone. It does everything in one slim easy to use package.

Apps are plentiful and seem to be available for just about anything you can realistically think of.

I wouldn't go back to any other sort of phone now.

Me too, got my first one a couple of days ago, very impressed.
 
I-Phone
I debated between the Nokia N97 or I-phone got the N97 and really regret it as a couple of my friends have I-phones and I must admit there much more easier to use and the apps are tons better
 
I've a BB Javelin (Curve?) with Orange. Had it a year this month.

It makes calls well, the battery lasts a long time, camera's ok, it's easy(ish) to use.

But, it does a great job with email and I was given some money to take it.

There's probably a technical name for this; when I'm at home, it finds my wireless broadband and makes a connection. Then browsing, calls (maybe SMS's too) dont come off my monthly allowance but are done over the web.

HD
 
Least Cost Routing, although probably you have a pico- or femtocell; did Orange supply the WiFi router?
 
Least Cost Routing, although probably you have a pico- or femtocell; did Orange supply the WiFi router?

For the UK, Orange use UMA which needs a UMA capable phone (they still charge exactly the same for calls via UMA as via 2G/3G though!).

Vodafone offer the femtocell option which therefore works with any phone.

Both route calls to the carrier network but then they complete as usual over 2G/3G or landline (hence the charges still being made).

Both work very well to give a great signal indoors.
 
See you at MWC :D

I knew Voda have picocells out there, just wasn't sure if anyone else had started using them quietly - they make a very good retentions device.
 
See you at MWC :D

I knew Voda have picocells out there, just wasn't sure if anyone else had started using them quietly - they make a very good retentions device.

Vodafone recently rebranded their box to "Sure Signal" and its now £50.

No sign from "the others" in the UK yet!
 
Can I throw the HTC touch pro 2 into the mix. Similar in size to the iphone but with a slide out qwerty keyboard. Okay it doesn't have the apps yet but it does sync with outlook, runs windows mobile applications, tom tom, memory map and more.

I have used HTC phones for the last 3 years and have been impressed with them all.
 
I have a Nokia E71 and just bought the wife a iPhone 3gS, my next phone will be....




















































an iPhone...



Although as a phone and business 'tool' the Nokia is one of the best I have had :)
 
Least Cost Routing, although probably you have a pico- or femtocell; did Orange supply the WiFi router?

B/band is with Virgin.

The b/berry screen has UMA in the top right hand corner when I'm at home.

Still works even when I'm halfway down the street.

What's a pico- or femtocell?

HD
 
B/band is with Virgin.

The b/berry screen has UMA in the top right hand corner when I'm at home.

Still works even when I'm halfway down the street.

What's a pico- or femtocell?

HD

Do you remember Rabbit? It's that, basically. You have a teensy little mobile phone cell in your house, almost exactly like you do now with UMA except that the phone doesn't know the difference between being on a normal phone mast and being attached to your picocell, which also routes traffic onto their network via the itnernet.
 
Do you remember Rabbit? It's that, basically. You have a teensy little mobile phone cell in your house, almost exactly like you do now with UMA except that the phone doesn't know the difference between being on a normal phone mast and being attached to your picocell, which also routes traffic onto their network via the itnernet.

sort of....

For Orange, the UMA-capable phone (mostly Blackberries) picks up normal bog-standard WIFI when you get home and UMA firmware looks for the Orange gateway via the web. If found, it transfers routing (of your "end" of the call) to the web instead of using 2G/3G. Nothing offered for non-UMA phones - there is no local cell in the house in this case. No setup cost.

For Vodafone, you have a little box to plug into your router that broadcasts "Vodafone" on 3G within your house. No UMA etc required, just the equivalent of a small mobile phone mast inside your house. Works with all 3G-capable phones (almost all newish ones). Setup cost is £50 (or £5 additional per month) for the box.

O2 and T-mobile have no offering yet in the UK (and T-obile certainly need SOMETHING to help their iffy coverage!).

Rather cheekily, both charge normal call rates and justify it by the "value" of the wonderful signal quality you get indoors!
 
Vodafone recently rebranded their box to "Sure Signal" and its now £50.

No sign from "the others" in the UK yet!

I am currently trialling something called a Cel Fi device for T-Mobile. Product Overview | Nextivity,

mainHdr-products-873x246.jpg


These are very new on the market and I understand they haven't even got Ofcom approval yet.

These work differently to the Voda Sure Signal device in that they are basically a repeater and don't use an ADSL connection. The Nextivity box works very well by all accounts with my 1 bar indoor gprs signal leaping to 5 bars of 3G. :thumb:

I have been reliably informed that one could take a Sure Signal type device abroad and as long as your foreign Internet connection went via a UK based Proxy, your calls would all be considered national calls and no roaming charges would be applied....
 
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So the final decision is : Blackberry Bold 9700 or iPhone 3GS ? :)
 

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