My very first smartphone

K

Kunmui

New member
Hi can anyone help?

So I am thinking of upgrading from a Nokia 6500 Classic. My current phone is fine, except the screen isn't big enough for things like loading web pages, making notes on a calendar, and other basic organization tasks.

I use the phone for less than 5 minutes per month, some months only 1 minute. But when I do use it, it's important. I would like to use the phone for internet via this phone for one or two minutes each month, but when I do use it, it's important that the process of loading the page and reading it is easy and efficient, not cumbersome.

My 5 requirements are:

1. Can use my own sim card, which is from Telestial/Ekit (so phone should come unlocked or be relatively simple to unlock). I will not pay a monthly contract fee. If there is some sort of contract required it must be costless or nearly costless to cancel immediately after purchase.
2. Works on all inhabited continents (so quadband I guess? My Nokia 6500 classic is quadband).
3. Big enough screen to use internet on 3g with relative ease (I won't be using wifi).
4. Very low price (one of the least expensive in the market).
5. Can be purchased online and delivered to my home through the mail.

I anticipate that there are several phones available which meet my modest requirements, in which case my decision will probably be determined by price. Vendor can be based anywhere; USA or China or HK or Germany I will buy from whichever best meets my needs.

Any info and links are appreciated.
 
I doubt that you will find one to meet #2. Most smartphones require a data plan for Internet, otherwise your data costs will be extremely high.
 
I have Telestial as my provider, which gives me service in all inhabited continents of the world (160 countries). My current quadband phone handles this fine. Seems quadband is a fairly standard feature among most half-decent phones these days. I use hardly any data, but the tiny bit that I do use is important. Telestial charges me a tiny fee for this usage on a pay as you go basis, which I am fine with paying. I don't use a phone for watching movies or downloading music or doing other leisure internet things; I have a computer for that.

The key for me is getting a phone that can handle web pages properly, not like Nokia 6500 Classic.
 
Have you tried the search tool on GSMArena?? Just put in all the parameters and it will display phones that match. I posted a link in the stickies here: http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1652895-Finding-your-next-phone.-*-TOOLS-*
 
Oh neat, thanks for that. I had no idea there were so many phones available that meet my needs. If only I could sort them all by price, I'd simply grab a used version of the cheapest one.
 
If it's a big screen you need for better web browsing try checking the ff: Xperia X10, iPhone 4, Galaxy S, Dell Streak and N8
 
Sorry to bump this thread but I saw another thread of yours and wanted to look more into what you're seeking in a phone.

Telestial looks like they charge ridiculous rates no matter where you are for data. The $2.50/MB (Austria, France, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom) is perhaps only mild robbery, but if you're using this SIM primarily in Canada/US you'll be paying $15/MB. Modern smartphones just aren't designed to sip data in small enough increments. So... good luck, I guess?
 
I only use the internet over wifi with my smartphone. So no, 3g data price isn't something I care about since wifi is ubiquitous fast and free where I am, and I pretty much never use cellular network for data. Ideally, I'd like a phone which handles Skype properly so that I don't need to use a cellular network for talking either; everything over wifi, and never deal with a phone company. I thought the original iphone would be able to handle this but it can't. Even the newer iphones have serious problems handling skype properly, according to many voices from around the internet.

For my needs, Telestial prices (their subsidiary Ekit actually) and services are far superior to all major carriers in Canada and the United States as far as I know (and I looked into this for a while, check my older posts). If there is another company which offers better prices with absolutely no contract, 15 month credit expiry, and service in 160 countries, I am all ears.

Another thing i'm wondering, is which smartphone allows you to download from megaupload.com natively in the browser. The original iphone can't do this, which has been a huge disappointment. I don't want to be stuck in some superslow app to get this basic functionality. What I would like is for pdf and video files to be easily downloadable from megaupload via the standard browser. And then, it should be clear where those files have been placed on the phone's hard drive, so that I can immediately view them effortlessly. Again, iphone can't seem to get this right. Is there another phone which is more one-click-hosting friendly? It would be great if the device isn't crippled to only work properly with itunes or other bloatware.
 
Android does work with megaupload (usually), and the browser defaults to dropping files in /sdcard/download which you can access using a file manager. You can launch downloaded files as many times as you want without re-downloading. On better Androids you can get relatively smooth playback of AVI video files using apps such as RockPlayer or QQPlayer. Skype works over wi-fi.

So I say, go for an Android. It then becomes a matter of how much you want to spend on a phone and what variety you like. (Psst... want to buy my Motorola Milestone?)

I suppose your usage pattern is unusually different from most of us on the forum so if Telestial/Ekit works for you, great. I'm more of a traditional smartphone user, 200-500 mins/month, 200-500 SMS/month, 0.5-2 GB mobile data/month, and 95% of the time in my one country. So obviously my own patterns would not be suited for your particular solution.

I guess your requirements have changed since the first post on this thread, because at first you said "I won't be using wifi" and now you're saying you'll be using it all the time.
 
That would be the more recent featurephone 6600. Despite its plastic construction, it had a jewel like polished river pebble like appearance that pleased me greatly.

The earlier 6600 was an oval shaped Symbian phone that had an elegant design with a large 2.8" screen display. Back around 2004 and 2005, it was the iPhone of its day, it was like very very popular in Asia.
 
I telestial as my provider,which provides services to all inhabited continents (160 countries).My phone is a quad-band power for this purpose. Quad seems to be fairly standard feature phone for half a year,and in recent days.I use almost all the data,but a little "less use is very important.Teleste charges a small fee for this use in a pay as you go basis,I'm happy with the pay.You should not use the phone for watching movies and downloading music or doing other things on the internet free time,I have a computer for him.....

Most important for me,a phone that can handle web pages correctly,and not as the Nokia 6500 classic.
 
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