Random cellphone babbling thread #1

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[Poof, there goes my expertise]

 

You *want* my phone? It's all scratched up and all sides, and gets better reception if you unscrew the antenna... But whatever...I'll drop you a line.

 

I am a collector, Kit. I'm on a continual hunt for more phones - I'm currently on the hunt for a Nokia 282. Old, vintage phone, maybe, but hey, I collect the damn things. I am, after all, SP's cellphone guru.

*EDIT* Found a StarTAC.

[ July 18, 2006, 00:49: Message edited by: Disciple of The Watch ]

 

Picking up my shiny StarTAC today. I can't wait to start playing around with it. Expect a field-test soon enough, folks.

Also, my 5165 battery is (finally) on the way. It's a slim battery, so I am a bit worried I might get a performance loss - but then again, it's a Li-Ion battery, and the one currently on my phone is a less enduring NiMH. Even if I lose some performance, I (finally) gain vibrate mode. That won't be a ****ing luxury. I'm buying my teacher's GSM Nok 5190 too, and good news is that the batteries and faceplates I have for my 5165 will be fully compatible with the 5190. All that's left to do is unlock it, and f*** Rogers/Fido of 230$.

BTW, Harbs, have you checked for the Ericsson T39? I recommend it heartily - I love this little phone, even more than my Samsung T809. Even if it works only in single-band here, in NZ it would work in dual-band, so you would have even better reception than I do.

[ July 26, 2006, 19:34: Message edited by: Disciple of The Watch ]

 

Field Test: Siemens M46 with Rogers

The M46 is an economy, entry-level phone. Unfortunatly, it's single-band (GSM 1900)

Battery Life: Officially rated for 8 days, roughly lasted a week during my test and regular use.

Signal: Barely gets upper than half. It's enough to make and hold a call, but it's definitively inferior to Fido.

Sound quality: The signature great quality of PCS GSM. (Inferior to even 800 MHz CDMA, though)

Phone and keyboard feel: Like many other Siemens, it's tiny. A little too much for my taste, but it remains comfortable to a degree.

Screen: Basic B&W. A special mention to the awesome BLUE screen backlight, and the orange keypad backlight.

Customization: The front plate and back plate can be changed, but not the keypad, which is an annoyance. It can be customized with downloadable wallpapers and ringtones (mono). It uses GPRS for data.

Form factor: Candybar.

Wrap-up: This phone is a cheap entry-level phone. It's good, but not great. For the basic phone user, it delivers.

Final score: 7/10. Lost points due to the abscence of GSM 850, which SERIOUSLY hurts reception, regained some thanks to the blue backlight.

[ July 31, 2006, 05:08: Message edited by: Disciple of The Watch ]

 

Hey DotW almighty cellphone guru, I may have a chance of actually getting the coveted 8800 (zomg)

Question is it unlockable?

 

Nope, not at the moment. The 8800 is equipped with BB5 (or DCT5) firmware, which we are still working to decipher.

Or, if you don't want to wait, you can ask T-Mo to unlock it - you have been a customer for more than six months, correct? I'm not sure about T-Mo UK's policy, but T-Mo USA releases the unlock codes to you after a certain amount of time (six months).

I will post any new info regarding the unlock of new gen phones as I get it.

[ December 23, 2006, 19:58: Message edited by: Disciple of The Watch ]

 

Cheers Dude, 5 years with T-mob but I'm getting another contract as the 8800 is free with it

 

5 years? Then they likely won't refuse to release the codes to you, since you've been a faithful customer.

But what happens with your shiny 6101, or your shiny unlocked 6230? If you care to part with either let me know.

As for now, cheers to the 8800!

 

Well, I just got confirmation, it's official, Amp'd will indeed launch in Canada via a monogamist relationship with Telus.

Focus is still on mobile entertainement, which is, honestly, not my cup of tea. I'll stick with Telus, thank you very much.

Another MVNO. Yeah, we need more of those!!! All those so-called providers do is repackage and resell someone else's service. They're seriously pathetic.

 

Kit, I know you liked the Samsung T509, and I heard that T-Mo would get an updated version, the T519. From what I know, the phone has 80 MB internal memory and a microSD card. Other specs are said to be similar to the X820. More info as I get it.

 

Field Test: StarTAC ST7868W on Rogers AMPS

Due to Telus being a band of anal ****ers who absolutly refuse to activate something they didn't sold themselves (no cursing, swearing or threatening to go with Bell worked either), the only way to use the shiny StarTAC was on Rogers AMPS.

Battery Life: Anyone who had an AMPS (analog) phone will tell you to kiss your battery goodbye, and that your charger will become your best friend. It's true. Two days is the theorican max I could do with a battery. Good thing I have two.

Signal: Always past half-signal. Sufficient to place and hold calls.

Sound quality: Not exactly the clearest I have ever seen (but then again this is AMPS), but I have no problems hearing the person on the other end or being heard at the other end.

Phone and keyboard feel: This phone is easy to open with one hand, and just as easy to manipulate. The END and SEND keys placement is a little awkward, though. It's also surprisingly comfortable.

Screen: Basic B&W. Special mention to the blue-green Indiglo-esque backlight, which looks good.

Customization: Nothing. Niet. Neen. Zut. Zip. Zero. Nada. Forget customization. No fancy ringtones, no fancy wallpapers, no fancy faceplates. The phone is fully black, and it's just the way I like it. The factory ringtones annoy the hell out of me, so it's 24/7 on vibrate.

Form factor: Clamshell

Wrap-up: It pisses me off that Telus are such anal bastards as for completly and caterogically refusing to activate it with digital service. I feel like I'm underutilizing the potential of this phone. I haven't said my last piece, however, and I still got a few aces up my sleeve. They don't want to reactivate a non-Telus ESN? Fine, I'll grab an old Telus parts phone for 3x nothing and flash the StarTAC with the proper firmware and new ESN. Then they cannot argue it's not activatable.

Final score: 8/10. I hate underutilizing the potential of this phone. AMPS is truly not the best, but until I can get a digital activation, it's the only viable option.

 

I'm due an upgrade on my contract, so I'm getting one fo these babies

http://www.mobilemag.com/content/images/6506_large.jpg

The LG KG920, complete with 5 megapixel camera . I really like it, I'll get it sorted soon.

Wouldn't mind the girls either, I'd put one through them!

 

Ahh, finally you decided to make a bit of sense, Barmy.

CDMA LG are better than their GSM counterpart, but all LG phones are great.

 

It's not the make I'm interested in, but the looks and the features.

5 megapixel is huge!

 

From Rob and Elliot webcomic:

My cell phone makes me super important

 

kuemp, you're a spoilsport.

For some of us (like me), cellphones have replaced landlines, so carrying them around is an habit.

This, however, is an extreme. The guy truly has an ego problem - BTW, nice *DynaTAC*.

Battery has arrived - finally, the damn phone vibrates, and finally, I can break my suffocating relationship with my charger!

 

Kids and their cell phones...

At my work's summer party, this Paris Hilton wanna’-be was getting all pissed off on the bumper boats when someone would squirt her because she was dumb enough to take her phone on to a water attraction.

Everyone was getting her extra wet because she was b****ing so much about her precious phone.

Who the heck takes a phone to a place where there are bumper boats, squirt cannons, and a waterfall? I think we actually fried it when me, my best man, and some other lady forced her boat under the waterfall.

 

Ridiculous. How hard can it be to leave the damn phone at home and let voicemail take care of the rest? Let me guess, the phone was covered in fake bling-bling gems.

But on a more serious note, Kit, when I got my new 5165 battery, I also got a reception booster, the thing you mentioned some time ago, and I slapped it on my 5165 to see if there was really a difference - this one is brand new, so I assumed it would perform better than my old one.

So, I slap it on, snap my battery on, and to my own surprise, there IS a difference. TDMA coverage is a little weak where I live (1-2/4 bars), and with this thing slapped on it's not unusual to see 3/4 bars, and sometimes even 4/4 bars.

The "It's like having a four foot antenna on your phone" is clearly exagerated, but still, this thing actually helps. They're retailed at 19.99$ - don't bother, get one as a free gift with an order on eBay.

 

Kitrax, a long time ago you asked me about phones using OLED screens, remember? Well, the "Nokia" (it is actually a rebranded Pantech) 6215i has both internal and external OLED display. It's a Verizon exclusive - CDMA pwns GSM.

Field test of my brand new Kyocera 5135 coming reasonably soon.