ThisSickBoii
New member
Hi, I was hoping some knowledgeable folks on here might recommend a phone for me?
What I will use the phone for:
1. Regularly making and receiving calls over wifi with no headset/mic; I just want to hold the phone up to my ear and use it for google talk and/or skype and/or some other internet phone company. This implies that I need a phone with an excellent wifi receiver which does not drop the wifi connection all the time (as some phones are apparently notorious for). Iphone 2g seems to require headset and mic to use skype, which is not ok with me. I want to hold the phone up to my ear and talk over wifi using a 3rd party service such as skype, google talk, webphone, etc. Iphone seems to require 4.x firmware in order to use wifi calling while holding phone to ear, and that firmware is not compatible with iphone 2g apparently.
2. Regularly browsing the internet over wifi, and streaming live online video from the websites of leading news organisations. The phone should display websites properly, not with a muddled layout or broken features (in my opinion iphone 2g is a good example of a phone which displays websites properly; I trust there are others which are at or above this standard). Main video site would be Al Jazeera, which has 24/7 live video available in a normal internet browser, no "app" required.
3. Regularly uploading and viewing graphic pdf files around 75mb in size (occasionally up to 400mb though) to the phone, if any phone can handle this. Also regularly uploading music and video to the phone and listening/viewing.
4. Hardly ever making or receiving any sort of call on the cellular network.
5. Hardly ever using text messaging.
6. I am a linux user on my home computer, so I want a phone which is not a nightmare with linux. Don't want to be caged in a propietary software universe (for example loading non-music files onto an iphone without itunes is a real pain; imo the solution is not 'just get itunes', rather I will 'just choose a phone which lets me use the device in the way I like')
7. Please note I already have a mobile service provider which I am happy with. I won't be signing any contracts, no matter how 'neat' the phone being offered may seem. Besides, my actual cellular (non-wifi) use of the phone is very rare. Only in emergencies really.
8. Making occasional short emergency calls from different parts of the world over the cellular network, so the phone should be quadband.
9. Ad free internet browsing. There should be a free adblock application which works just like with firefox. Iphone apparently has one, but I tried it and there is a constant nag to hand over credit card info and pay something like 8 bucks for it. I'd really just like a mobile version of the very reliable and nag-free adblock for firefox.
Ideally I would prefer if the phone works without a need to use hacks/jailbreaking to get full functionality of the phone and full access to whatever applications I want. For example there are many great apps for iphone but only if your iphone is hacked. From what I've seen, hacking the iphone allows it to reach full potential in terms of capabilities, but reduces speed of processing and general responsiveness of the device.
Things I don't really care about: brand, appearance, ringtones, shape, size (vast majority of phones are fine size for me), carrier (I will be using a small California company which nobody has heard of, not any of the huge companies), touchscreen or keyboard, email or messaging applications, "social media" applications, newness or oldness of the model (I can always find an older model phone through alternative channels, and will do so if there is good reason to; I do not care whether the phone came out last week or 4 years ago, it just needs to meet my needs. Given this fact, I'd also prefer not to pay more than is really necessary to get the functionality I'm looking for).
If some of my wishes are beyond the limits of current technology please point out which ones are too demanding. However my understanding is that these points I've raised have become fairly standard among smartphones...
I am open to suggestions at any price, however as long as the 9 conditions I named are fulfilled, I am likely to choose the most cost effective model (since superfluous bells/whistles/styling are not very valuable to me)
Many thanks!
What I will use the phone for:
1. Regularly making and receiving calls over wifi with no headset/mic; I just want to hold the phone up to my ear and use it for google talk and/or skype and/or some other internet phone company. This implies that I need a phone with an excellent wifi receiver which does not drop the wifi connection all the time (as some phones are apparently notorious for). Iphone 2g seems to require headset and mic to use skype, which is not ok with me. I want to hold the phone up to my ear and talk over wifi using a 3rd party service such as skype, google talk, webphone, etc. Iphone seems to require 4.x firmware in order to use wifi calling while holding phone to ear, and that firmware is not compatible with iphone 2g apparently.
2. Regularly browsing the internet over wifi, and streaming live online video from the websites of leading news organisations. The phone should display websites properly, not with a muddled layout or broken features (in my opinion iphone 2g is a good example of a phone which displays websites properly; I trust there are others which are at or above this standard). Main video site would be Al Jazeera, which has 24/7 live video available in a normal internet browser, no "app" required.
3. Regularly uploading and viewing graphic pdf files around 75mb in size (occasionally up to 400mb though) to the phone, if any phone can handle this. Also regularly uploading music and video to the phone and listening/viewing.
4. Hardly ever making or receiving any sort of call on the cellular network.
5. Hardly ever using text messaging.
6. I am a linux user on my home computer, so I want a phone which is not a nightmare with linux. Don't want to be caged in a propietary software universe (for example loading non-music files onto an iphone without itunes is a real pain; imo the solution is not 'just get itunes', rather I will 'just choose a phone which lets me use the device in the way I like')
7. Please note I already have a mobile service provider which I am happy with. I won't be signing any contracts, no matter how 'neat' the phone being offered may seem. Besides, my actual cellular (non-wifi) use of the phone is very rare. Only in emergencies really.
8. Making occasional short emergency calls from different parts of the world over the cellular network, so the phone should be quadband.
9. Ad free internet browsing. There should be a free adblock application which works just like with firefox. Iphone apparently has one, but I tried it and there is a constant nag to hand over credit card info and pay something like 8 bucks for it. I'd really just like a mobile version of the very reliable and nag-free adblock for firefox.
Ideally I would prefer if the phone works without a need to use hacks/jailbreaking to get full functionality of the phone and full access to whatever applications I want. For example there are many great apps for iphone but only if your iphone is hacked. From what I've seen, hacking the iphone allows it to reach full potential in terms of capabilities, but reduces speed of processing and general responsiveness of the device.
Things I don't really care about: brand, appearance, ringtones, shape, size (vast majority of phones are fine size for me), carrier (I will be using a small California company which nobody has heard of, not any of the huge companies), touchscreen or keyboard, email or messaging applications, "social media" applications, newness or oldness of the model (I can always find an older model phone through alternative channels, and will do so if there is good reason to; I do not care whether the phone came out last week or 4 years ago, it just needs to meet my needs. Given this fact, I'd also prefer not to pay more than is really necessary to get the functionality I'm looking for).
If some of my wishes are beyond the limits of current technology please point out which ones are too demanding. However my understanding is that these points I've raised have become fairly standard among smartphones...
I am open to suggestions at any price, however as long as the 9 conditions I named are fulfilled, I am likely to choose the most cost effective model (since superfluous bells/whistles/styling are not very valuable to me)
Many thanks!