What is the best deal for a new smart phone 2011

Can I ask do people think it worthwhile to spend another NT1200-400 for a cell phone when presumably you already have internet at home and a phone? Are you out all time that you need this devise and service?

This is not a rant against technology. I am genuinely wondering. Everytime I think about getting a smart phone I wonder how it would be worth it. I work at home which may make my situation different from yours. The only time I would need such a phone is when I travel but then I would have to use a local plan anyway which means doubling up on payments (paying here while abroad).

Appreciate all feedback. Either I am missing something or my work and lifestyle makes buying a smart phone plan a waste.

Hi Mucha,

I agree with you, and have always asked myself the same Q “is it worth it”. I have never owned a smartphone but i have recently wanted one for a few reasons, most of the reasons are not really “NEEDED” but more like a WANT. My main purposes are:

  • I go biking around Taiwan, so apps like maps, navigation will be useful for me. I also dont own a camera, and whenever i come across beautiful scenery i would like to take a shot.
  • Having ability to tether my laptop can come in handy at times
  • Translation/Chinese learning tools.
  • Social - keeping up to date with emails, facebook etc.
  • Games - keep me from getting bored while on the MRT
  • Music - dont need to carry a mp3 player around anymore

I think it comes down to each person and what you need/want the smartphone for.

So anyone else recently get a phone ?

[quote=“Mucha Man”]Can I ask do people think it worthwhile to spend another NT1200-400 for a cell phone when presumably you already have internet at home and a phone? Are you out all time that you need this devise and service?

This is not a rant against technology. I am genuinely wondering. Everytime I think about getting a smart phone I wonder how it would be worth it. I work at home which may make my situation different from yours. The only time I would need such a phone is when I travel but then I would have to use a local plan anyway which means doubling up on payments (paying here while abroad).

Appreciate all feedback. Either I am missing something or my work and lifestyle makes buying a smart phone plan a waste.[/quote]

My attitude was initially the same. Paying ~1000NT for Internet at home and then another ~1600NT for Internet for my phone seems wasteful. My wife ended giving me a budget LG Android phone as a gift. 4000NT for the phone and 300NT/month for voice but no data. I have a wi-fi router set up both in my house and at work, so connecting to the Internet isn’t too much of a hassle. But having a Chinese dictionary, flashcard program, crossword puzzle app, Facebook, Google Reader, GPS unit with offline maps and bicycle route mapper, and web browser on me at all times is pretty indispensable. When I get around to upgrading, I might just outright buy an iPhone (maybe iPhone 4 units will come down in price once the 4S hits?) and keep my voice-only plan.

anyone else just get a new cell phone plan out there ? My I am going next week sometime.

look here for how to evaluate this for yourself:

[quote=“Mucha Man”]Can I ask do people think it worthwhile to spend another NT1200-400 for a cell phone when presumably you already have internet at home and a phone? Are you out all time that you need this devise and service?

This is not a rant against technology. I am genuinely wondering. Everytime I think about getting a smart phone I wonder how it would be worth it. I work at home which may make my situation different from yours. The only time I would need such a phone is when I travel but then I would have to use a local plan anyway which means doubling up on payments (paying here while abroad).

Appreciate all feedback. Either I am missing something or my work and lifestyle makes buying a smart phone plan a waste.[/quote]

This is primarily a lifestyle thing. You have to view a smartphone not as a phone, but as basically a full featured computer that fits in your pocket, knows where it is, is always connected to the internet, and happens to also make phone calls.

The smartphone has the (I feel) desirable property of condensing a whole bunch of disparate devices and things into one. It simultaneously minimizes and simplifies things while being an exceptional enabler. It’s a web device, photo camera, video camera, video conferencing machine, book reader, compass & GPS, game machine, music jukebox and whatever else an app can make it (eg: pocket (almost) universal translator, currency converter, banking machine, weather forecaster, pedometer, airline boarding pass, 3d scanner, panoramic picture taker, etc. etc. etc.) combined into one tiny box, available to you whenever and wherever.

This means the desk is no longer binding. As Timothy Ferriss professed, the whole world is your desk with one of these. While I have been known to be a bit overly evangelistic, I think anyone who has made the leap will agree with the simplification and untethered freedom the smartphone affords them.

[quote=“mabagal”]…The smartphone has the (I feel) desirable property of condensing a whole bunch of disparate devices and things into one. It simultaneously minimizes and simplifies things while being an exceptional e nabler. It’s a web device, photo camera, video camera, video conferencing machine, book reader, compass & GPS, game machine, music jukebox and whatever else an app can make it (eg: pocket (almost) universal translator, currency converter, banking machine, weather forecaster, pedometer, airline boarding pass, 3d scanner, panoramic picture taker, etc. etc. etc.) combined into one tiny box, available to you whenever and wherever.
[/quote]

But that’s the whole issue for me. You speak of an improved lifestyle with these things, but a smartphone just isn’t any good at a heap of activities that are very important to me.

No one who cares about good photographs for example will use one for taking pics. So for work purposes I still have to carry a proper slr around if I want to sell anything (or have decent pics I can print and hang on my wall).

Same with using one as an e-reader. Yeah it’s better than nothing but compared to a Kindle there is no contest which is better.

It works well as an music player and the gps function is alright. I don’t play games and apps are time wasters even if a few are cool (such as star charts).

In essence these devices do a few things well, and they do enough things reasonably well they seem like they simplify your life. But you don’t address the cost issue which is at the heart of my inquiry.

Why would I pay for an inferior experience in a lot of activities that mean a lot to me? That’s just weird.

Anyway, thanks everyone for all the feedback. I am going to get one but only for travel when the convenience of not having to carry multiple devices outweighs the poor performance of any individual feature on a smartphone.

While the smartphone will never be a dedicated SLR, the improved workflows make it an overall better point-n-shoot than pretty much any point-n-shoot. And therein is the difference. Most people don’t need the absolute last iota of performance but prefer instead the convenience of carrying all of this in your pocket and of far improved workflows from the norm. Workflows that are actually IMPOSSIBLE without specifically, a smartphone. This is even more true as the cloud becomes more and more real and as location based services become more and more ubiquitous.

Your priorities are your priorities, and since you say they don’t align, then we will never convince you. So, why do you bother to ask? It’s clear that you were just looking for a platform to further bad mouth how apparently useless a smartphone is. Fair enough. I’ll simply stop indulging you.

I still don’t see the need for a smart phone. I can’t use it while I’m teaching, and if I’m not teaching then I’m home or near home with a full featured PC. If I’m out eating or socializing then it seems silly to mess with the internet/facebook etc… There just isn’t anything urgent enough to make it worth the cost. I guess it all depends how much time you spend away from your PC and how urgently you need to get on facebook.

I’ve got a camera that’s usually close by in my scoot. It does everything I could ask for.

I’m happy that people enjoy their smart phones, I just personally don’t see much reason or need. My ancient old Nokia is great for talking and it’s my faithful alarm clock every morning. I don’t need much else.

mabagal, my question was sincere. You went off topic and used this for a little ad hoc proselytizing and I responded. But you never bothered to address the salient issue, which was is spending money to duplicate services such as internet access useful? I was trying to figure out if I was missing something. It appears I was not.

As one friend told me, if I lived where he does, out in daxi, I could tether my smart phone to my laptop and use it as my only internet connection given there are so few users out there. Not so practical in Taipei.

No technobabble, just practical consumer information which is what I was after.

So yeah, genuine question, and I appreciate those who gave me useful feedback. What’s here is doubtlessly useful for a lot of people as I am not the only one considering this given what others have said.

As an aside, this is why I recommended before that the technology forum be split into two: one for tech and spec heavy threads, and one more consumer minded.

These are probably the most important factors for you. When I got my iPhone the purpose was, first and foremost, to have my MP3 player (something I use ALL the time) and my phone (something society - OK, my wife - expects me to always carry) on the same device. I use the thing for far more than that now, but I suspect in your case, since you’re already working from home, a smart phone isn’t so necessary. It’d be fantastic to have a smart phone when I travel, but as you say, you need to be on a local plan to use it, so then - when I most want it - the features aren’t available.

What do you need a camera for? If you use one for random shots day by day, then a smart phone is great, in a “the best camera is the one you have with you” sense; if you just use an SLR when you’re travelling, then an iPhone won’t help. When do you need a GPS? If it’s occasionally to get your bearings, a smart phone is good; if you’re trekking and route mapping in Alaska, you want a dedicated GPS device.

Having the internet always with me is cool (but seldom essential) for numerous reasons (alidarbac above has listed most of them), but I suspect that for your lifestyle, when you’re out you don’t particularly want the internet always with you; when you travel and are doing research, it’d probably be great, but as far as I know you can’t yet just pick up a temporary smart phone plan like you can a near-disposable SIM card. When/ if that happens, I think a smartphone would be fantastic for you, but until then, it’s likely not necessary.

The fact that I can carry a half-assed camera, an adequate GPS, a great MP3 player, a web browser, several books worth of Chinese flashcards and dictionaries, a reasonable e-reader, and oh yeah a phone, in one pocket is something that’s [strike]essential[/strike] [strike]important[/strike] useful to me every day. If you don’t feel like you need that, great, you’re probably financially more sensible than I am. Basically I wouldn’t bother until you see someone doing something with a smartphone and you think that’d be very useful to you, rather than just fun.

Another way to put it: what goes in your bag when you go out on a normal day? If it’s just a phone, forget smartphones. If it’s a phone and an MP3 player, consider it. A phone, an MP3 player, and a Kindle? Think harder. A phone, an MP3 player, a Kindle, a camera, a GPS, a stack of Chinese flash cards, several board games, and a book of crossword puzzles? Get a smartphone, but first get professional help.

I feel that a fast, reliable home Internet connection and a slightly slower, but goes with you everywhere Internet connection are complimentary and not redundant. If the extra 1000NT per month is a concern and you live in a place with good coverage, the yes you could use it as your only internet connection.

Tethering is a luxury that many of us in Asia enjoy without having to pay extra as we did back in the States or elsewhere. This to me is infinitely valuable and a lifestyle transformer. Nice day out? Want to go somewhere to think? Maybe the park or riverside? Work at the beach? On top of a mountain? In Taiwan the coverage is amazing, so no problem to any of these.

In fact, when traveling I use the smartphone and a local SIM or data roaming as my only internet connection. If you are a traveler, then you know that in many places, particularly in Asia, the mobile Internet is more reliable, faster and cheaper than the land Internet more often than not, particularly in hotels and places with shared WiFi. In China, the easiest way out of the firewall is simply to roam on Taiwan Mobile or Chunghwa Telecom using China Unicom’s network. It will give you an exit point in Taiwan and you get the real Internet. For a traveler, having mobile Internet and location based services while traveling is like being uncaged from whatever the locals or hotel concierges fancy to tell you in that instance.

With regard to workflows, when traveling, I can take a picture and it just shows up on every other one of my machines, wherever they may be, a few seconds later. No wires, no download, none of that. If I lose or break my phone while I’m out there, the photos and pretty much everything else I made on the phone are already in the cloud, so nothing lost except a phone. I could go on and on but you will still not be convinced.

There’s really no need to be so snarky. I have already said I am buying one for travelling as I see the use. I can’t use one for my daily home internet needs as my apartment gets almost no coverage in the center and very bad coverage in my study. And I am simply not going to pay for mobile and home internet coverage when I can use neither for sometimes 4 months of the year.

In any case, your last post was very useful overall, so thank you for that.

I am wondering about roaming charges while overseas. That’s expensive enough for regular cell phone use. How much is this for data roaming? For me at this time, yes, price is a major concern.

There are convenient and more expensive approaches, and there are cheaper, but less expensive approaches. The answer is “it depends”.

The most convenient approach for Asia is to call your Taiwan-based carrier before leaving to set up unlimited data roaming. This is 399NT a day for many locales in Asia, including HK and Mainland China. While a little bit blah on the price side, in perspective it’s competitive with many hotel in-room WiFi fees and in most cases out performs the hotel. I believe this offer is also true in the USA, although I have not used this service there.

A less convenient (often frustratingly so due to the difficulty of finding a card), but much cheaper approach is to get a local SIM card with data. This can go from ridiculously cheap (100HKD for 5-days of unlimited data) to more expensive (~250RMB to setup a SIM with 300MB of data in China, with reloads of ~60RMB for each 300MB more). It can also be metered by MB, by month, week, day or even by hour, for example in the Philippines where Smart sells unlimited data in 30minute blocks that amounts to about 10USD per day if left on 24/7 or for 5 days that amounts to half that amount (go figure). It can be as easy as finding a vendor at the exit gate, as in the Philippines, or as frustrating as having to go into the city to find a retailer, as in China, to as strange as having the “rent” a SIM card from a carrier, such as in Japan. It can be nearly impossible to get at all, as is in the USA, where only the “mom & pop shop” Simple Mobile offers prepaid voice+data at 40USD/month for up to 1GB. It can encourage jumping some loopholes as in using an AT&T iPad SIM card in an iPhone in the USA @ 20USD for a month of up to 2GB.

Whatever you do, don’t just roam on data without at least first setting up a daily rate plan with the carrier. This may be the most simple approach (just turn on the phone and go), but it can be costly. The rates are per KB and are exorbitant; a big e-mail or other data pull for even a minute or less could net a bill of thousands and thousands of NT. Be careful with that.

A good place to look is flyertalk by googling “prepaid 3g data sim site:flyertalk.com” and by searching this forum.

This is very helpful stuff. Thank you. The first option is definitely out. I will be back in China for 3 months soon and paying almost NT15,000 a month for phone and internet seems a bit nutty (overseas + local bills). Also, hotel internet is always free and usually reliable (though gmail is getting harder to use these days).

Yeah, it all depends. No great options for me at the moment. :frowning:

[quote=“Mucha Man”]Can I ask do people think it worthwhile to spend another NT1200-400 for a cell phone when presumably you already have internet at home and a phone? Are you out all time that you need this devise and service?

This is not a rant against technology. I am genuinely wondering. Everytime I think about getting a smart phone I wonder how it would be worth it. I work at home which may make my situation different from yours. The only time I would need such a phone is when I travel but then I would have to use a local plan anyway which means doubling up on payments (paying here while abroad).

Appreciate all feedback. Either I am missing something or my work and lifestyle makes buying a smart phone plan a waste.[/quote]

A sure sign that you’re getting old.

I’m nearly 100% in the same situation as Mucha Man. Smartphones are cool and I would occasionally use the features. But it doesn’t even justify the purchase price much less the monthly plan. However if I was traveling more or needed work related constant internet access then I would get one.

It’s unfortunate that the GPS in the smartphones is tower based instead of sat based. I need to get a GPS to start tagging waterfalls for something I’m working on.

Its not as expensive as the prices being throw around on this post. I just paid 2500 for lasts years Samsung 3G phone with internet and every feature I wanted GPS internet MSN facebook ect… 585 a month. 2500 for the phone. Just dont get the latest and greatest new phone. Specially if you are not going to use it very much.

Not true for the iPhone (I can’t speak to other smartphones) - the GPS is both satellite and tower based. It still works if the network connections are off, but can be a bit slower, and obviously isn’t as effective if you’re underground (in which case a sat-based GPS isn’t much use either!).

I’ve got Canadian topographical maps on my iPhone that worked great when I was in Canada, with no phone connection - got a little dot showing where I was on the map. Unfortunately I don’t (yet) know how to get similar topo maps in Taiwan, and also the battery runs down in a hurry. The Lonely Planet city guides also work well - you can use their maps to see where you are, assuming you’ve bought that specific city guide app.

(Note to hikers occaisionally using iPhones in Canada: the complete nationwide series of topographical maps is actually available for free online now, to install through, uh, some app whose name I forget. Pretty cool, especially considering I used to pay something like $12 for a single map a decade or two back.)