Yet another thread on cell phone for asia!

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Ajanta - 12 Aug 2004 22:40 GMT

I have been watching the other thread with fascination because I am in
a similar situation. Need a light phone for India, able to deal with
low sig strength, long battery charge life (working electrical outlets
will not travel with me). However, while newbie wants to spend ~50, my
budget is ~100. Not quite Bill Gates here, but I thought different
enough not to interfere in the other thread. Moreover, I have a little
time, so I can scan ebay more leisurely.

First, please recommend the "best" phones you think fit comfortably in
that budget ($100 on ebay). Examples may be Motorola v66, 66i,
Sony Ericsson t28 t68i r520m. These would make my "safe" list.

Next, and this is going to be fun, please consider the candidates for
landing a deal if I get lucky. You know it happens, just not
guaranteed. Examples may be Motorola v300, Nokia 6610, 6100, 6130, 6230
etc., Ericsson t600, t610, t616. Please rank the top few candidates
that I can scan for. These would make my "steal deal" list

(Don't now where motorola P/T 280 fit?)

So that's my strategy. I'll for a deal on a "deluxe" model for a while
and if it doesn't work, get one of the safe ones.

All help appreciated.

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Ancient One - 12 Aug 2004 23:01 GMT

On eBay UK there are ton's of Ericsson R380's going from around ?25 to ?39
plus postage, these are the world specification models and come with
everything the traveler would ned including foreign adapters. These phones
were close on to a thou dollars up until recently. I think Dabs had them
selling for $815 at oone point.

Its not the funkiest of phones but my one is pretty good, it does the job
and Ilive in a low signa area of GB and it copes with that fine.

AO

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Ajanta - 13 Aug 2004 03:16 GMT

> On eBay UK there are ton's of Ericsson R380's...

Thanks, I'll look at them. My only concern is the weight. Ideally, I
would like something lighter.

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Ancient One - 13 Aug 2004 19:06 GMT

> > On eBay UK there are ton's of Ericsson R380's...
>
> Thanks, I'll look at them. My only concern is the weight. Ideally, I
> would like something lighter.

True, they are a bit heavy but pretty sturdy otherwise.

AO

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Phil Lawrence - 14 Aug 2004 15:17 GMT

> > > On eBay UK there are ton's of Ericsson R380's...
> >
> > Thanks, I'll look at them. My only concern is the weight. Ideally, I
> > would like something lighter.
>
> True, they are a bit heavy but pretty sturdy otherwise.

I bought one a few months ago as a backup phone. Superb piece of kit. I
would recommend it to anyone who can forego polytones and colour screens. It
has all the basics and the touch screen with stylus is so easy to use.

Phil Lawrence

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matt weber - 13 Aug 2004 03:51 GMT

>I have been watching the other thread with fascination because I am in
>a similar situation. Need a light phone for India, able to deal with
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>that budget ($100 on ebay). Examples may be Motorola v66, 66i,
>Sony Ericsson t28 t68i r520m. These would make my "safe" list.

R520M with the ugly battery (1400Mah version) gives me about a week's
service between charges, although to be honest, the Li batteries don't
weight a lot, if you have to carry a second one, big deal...Also car
chargers are readily available. so even if you aren't near an electric
outlet, a vehicle will work.

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P T Wang - 13 Aug 2004 04:09 GMT

> R520M with the ugly battery (1400Mah version) gives me about a week's
> service between charges, although to be honest, the Li batteries don't
> weight a lot, if you have to carry a second one, big deal...Also car
> chargers are readily available. so even if you aren't near an electric
> outlet, a vehicle will work.

You can also bring a portable battery pack and keep it in your room. A good
one can recharge your 1400mAH battery for 5-6 times.

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Ancient One - 13 Aug 2004 19:05 GMT

> > R520M with the ugly battery (1400Mah version) gives me about a week's
> > service between charges, although to be honest, the Li batteries don't
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> You can also bring a portable battery pack and keep it in your room. A good
> one can recharge your 1400mAH battery for 5-6 times.

I saw a little gizmo for Nokia's where you can hand charge your phone using
a small cranked box, ideal for emergencies or if you want to spend a bit
longer, charging the phone as normal.

AO

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John Navas - 13 Aug 2004 19:32 GMT

>> > R520M with the ugly battery (1400Mah version) gives me about a week's
>> > service between charges, although to be honest, the Li batteries don't
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>a small cranked box, ideal for emergencies or if you want to spend a bit
>longer, charging the phone as normal.

Many wireless stores sell small disposable external batteries for cell phones.
They have good shelf life, and can be handy for backup.

Signature

Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular

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Newbie - 13 Aug 2004 07:31 GMT

> I have been watching the other thread with fascination because I am in
> a similar situation...However, while newbie wants to spend ~50, my
> budget is ~100.

Be not vain my friend, I have bumped my budget up. :) I am close to
deciding and will start another thread, I am sure it will interest you.

BTW, always good to run into mac/thoth users. Too bad that Brian
stopped developing thoth.

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AC - 26 Aug 2004 22:14 GMT

I've owned a T28, and it's a great phone! It does have some drawbacks:

-Due to the short batt life (trade-off for being so slim), if you're in a
bad area, you might find life shorter.
-SMSing is not as intuitive as Nokias T9, but if you don't text much (like
me), that's not a concern.
-Slooow processor can frustrate some learner-users in menus.
-Ring volume not as loud as bigger phones.

The things it does brilliantly, and I'm yet to find a much newer Nokia to
do:

-The brilliant noise-cancelling design of the flip, allows conversations (2
way perfectly intelligible, unlike many others...) in the noisiest of
environments.
-Active "flip" answers calls easily & without "butt calls"...
-So slim, you forget it's in your pocket.
-Much better voice recognition than any newer Nokia I have (possibly due to
1).
-Solitare game, great prog!

> I have been watching the other thread with fascination because I am in
> a similar situation. Need a light phone for India, able to deal with
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>
> All help appreciated.

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