I-phone - I-touch- and the alternatives, any experience?

I've waited a few years in the hope that an affordable hand held gadget came onto the market that could do what I want. PDA's never did it for me. And although I would dearly like something with an ethernet port, looks like it won't happen. The other day I took a look at whats on offer. For what I want - which is -
grps, tri/quad band, wifi, ability to create & read documents, ability to read PDF's, ability to download applications.

~~I - phone~~ = seems to have it all. But the price is way out of my league.

~~I - touch~~ = has everything bar the phone part, don't want to have to carry a phone too.

Nokia 5800 = hmmm, affordable, has ability to do everything. Battery questionable (anyone?) and you have to pay for downloads of pdf readers, office creators, (v.v.v.bad- found a place to download free apps, not sure if they will work, anyone got any experience with this phone?)

Cect m88 = affordable. not 100% convinced at the ability to download apps. Not got my hands one yet. I've just got a lower version now with no wifi. t9 is terrible, and no apps.

Samsung 1900 = damn it looks nice with everything. Read a bad review on the battery. And the price is wayyy out of my range.
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If anyone has any experience with the Nokia and CECT WIFI phones can you give me a shout, or post here.

I've seen the you-tube reviews. I know a lot of people have i-phones but the cost is too much for me. Or if you know of any other phones. I can't find any Sony Ericcson's around, so that kinda rules them out too.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jen Randall on February 12, 2009 at 8:00am

I clicked on to comment about the Iphone - but you've already crossed it off the list :(
I have one and I love it and it's perfect for everything I do and everything I need! It would be my "100%...GET ONE". I'm not familiar with the others though sorry. Jen x

Permalink Reply by Aly & John on March 26, 2009 at 5:13pm

If you travel overseas which ones work best? I would love the I-Phone too but at that cost I would like to know what the monthly charges or plans are for overseas..?

Permalink Reply by Benny Lewis on March 30, 2009 at 5:22am

I got an unlocked and jailbroken (wider range of software) 3G iPhone in India for 18,000 rupees (€270). No contracts and free to use any SIM card in (already tried in 3 countries). Definitely a worthwhile investment; I'm sure you can get it for the same price or even cheaper if you go for the 2G model, and shop around on e-bay or get one second hand. You can synch it through your laptop and surf the 3G network on a bigger screen if you want. Otherwise the push technology for getting email notifications has been excellent and it's a nice wee toy to have with you. Battery life is measly when used a lot though.
Normally I don't like Apple but this has been a worthwhile investment!

Permalink Reply by Dave on March 30, 2009 at 10:59am

Came across the HIPhone the other day. The China rip off of the Iphone.

It was one of the first releases so the OS was a little dodgy. But similar probs later on the newer model. Camera is really bad. The responsiveness is fast to touch, but it's again got some bugs on certain pages.

T9 was poor, as was handwriting. WIFI was not so strong, away from source. It cost about $180 new. $60 second hand. Second hand battery is an issue as it drains fast. Dual sim.

Also got my hands on the Nokia 5800 legit version and fake. Legit with firmware 11 was fast and nice. Symbian apps are belting out all over the place. Hoping for some free stuff that will read PDF and office, then it's a nice phone for travel. Light, fits in pocket and screen is resistant to breaking.

Fake one I barely had in my hand, before it was snatched away. Slow response on screen. Not convinced it was fake china phone, more of bad shipment phone

Also got my hands on the Omni. Battery issues galore. Very nice looking, and responsive. V expensive

Permalink Reply by Kev on April 5, 2009 at 5:20am

I did a post & podcast on this topic - I figured that I wouldn't really need a mobile phone on a year long trip as a simply couldn't afford the calls. Phone cards and Skype are the way forward for me :(

I don't know how relevant that is, but i still reckon the itouch is the best gadget for long term travellers!

Kev

Permalink Reply by Aly & John on April 25, 2009 at 3:07pm

Just a thought. Can you download skype app on a Ipod touch and use it as a phone a wifi hotspots?? Still need to look for hotspots but if it works will be better than lugging around laptop for skype calls! If anyone tries it let me know as I don't have an Ipod touch!

Permalink Reply by Aaron and Georgie on October 24, 2009 at 3:40am

Hey Dave, The last time I was away I used a Nokia N95 in fact I still have it and I still use it, I team it with a nokia bluetooth keyboard which folds up nice and small to write posts on. It never let me down and I managed to post from it from anywhere at reasonable prices! I know the N95 is getting on a bit now but that will make it affordable and trust me its rugged enough to survive! It has GPS which has got me out of the brown stuff several times, can read PDF's even if the screen is smaller than most newer phones (comes with a red,white and yellow cable to plug into a TV which works really well) has WiFi capabilities and even Geotagging software... And of course a phone. Nowadays I use a laptop but I always take the Nokia out because it has a 5mp camera and I like to have a map with where I've been pinned with pics on my blog, honestly some of my best pics are by chance on my N95... I can't recommend it enough! Now they have the N96 which has a bigger screen which might interest you?
I could bang on about it forever if you want to know anymore let me know

Aaron

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