I’m finally going to take the plunge and get a new phone so was looking for any tips or suggestions. I’m new to the smartphone market after years of having just a plain Sony Ericsson.
Here are some of the features that are important to me:
Good email support
Fairly compact for my pocket
QWERTY keyboard if not too big
Wi-Fi
3G or 3.5G
GPS would be a plus
I’ve been toying with the idea of waiting for the Sony Experia but I think that’s going to be out of my budget. (budget = around 20,000k) I like how they’ve organized their keyboard to slide out, but still keep the candy bar style!
Blackberry seems to be pretty good, but I don’t know if I can buy those in Taiwan or if they’re in my price range.
HTC is a good thought as well but not sure if I’d like the touch screen. My gf wants to go to the HTC store this weekend to see what they’ve got on offer.
So if you’ve recently picked up a phone that you really like or if you have any other ideas, please let me know. Thank you!
HTC Touch Pro will be coming out soon (Mid- to late-september). I’ve used the Touchflo interface on the Touch Diamond and it was very nice. It also comes with a stylus if you prefer that kind of thing.
The Diamond doesn’t have a QWERTY keyboard (you’ll need a Tytn II for that), but the Pro will. The Pro is basically a diamond on steroids.
[quote=“rocky raccoon”]I’m finally going to take the plunge and get a new phone so was looking for any tips or suggestions. I’m new to the smartphone market after years of having just a plain Sony Ericsson.
Here are some of the features that are important to me:
Good email support
Fairly compact for my pocket
QWERTY keyboard if not too big
Wi-Fi
3G or 3.5G
GPS would be a plus
I’ve been toying with the idea of waiting for the Sony Experia but I think that’s going to be out of my budget. (budget = around 20,000k) I like how they’ve organized their keyboard to slide out, but still keep the candy bar style!
Blackberry seems to be pretty good, but I don’t know if I can buy those in Taiwan or if they’re in my price range.
HTC is a good thought as well but not sure if I’d like the touch screen. My gf wants to go to the HTC store this weekend to see what they’ve got on offer.
So if you’ve recently picked up a phone that you really like or if you have any other ideas, please let me know. Thank you! [/quote]You said you weren’t sure if you’d like the touch screen on an HTC. Do you mean on one of their phones with a touch screen only and no hardware QWERTY keyboard, such as the Diamond? You should try the Touch Pro - I think it’s out already. It’s fairly similar to the Diamond but with a slide-out keyboard like the Experia. It does also have a touch screen though which I think you’d find very useful indeed. Most people who’ve used touchscreen phones for a while never want to go back to regular ones.
Phones such as the Touch Pro and the Experia may well be a lot cheaper with certain phone company contracts. You can already get the Diamond much cheaper than list price with a range of contracts from TWM and another company, Chunghwa I think.
Thanks for the info guys. It does seem that the HTC Touch Pro is a good candidate, but man is it ever thick. I just saw a vid on YouTube and I don’t think it’d be that convenient for the pocket.
I think I should consider joesax’s advice and bite the bullet and try out some good touch screens. If I want a skinny phone it seems that would be the only way to have the cake and eat her too.
[quote=“rocky raccoon”]Thanks for the info guys. It does seem that the HTC Touch Pro is a good candidate, but man is it ever thick. I just saw a vid on YouTube and I don’t think it’d be that convenient for the pocket.
I think I should consider joesax’s advice and bite the bullet and try out some good touch screens. If I want a skinny phone it seems that would be the only way to have the cake and eat her too.[/quote]You mean one without a hardware QWERTY keyboard? Don’t know if I could go back to one of those either. I’m used to having both a keyboard and a touchscreen.
The Experia is also fairly chunky. If the size is really crucial, you might think about the new Treo Pro. The keyboard looks a little cramped, but should be alright for quick e-mails and texts. I’m not sure where you could get one here though. You might have to wait a little while, and I don’t think any local carriers will offer subsidies with a contract.
You can get a BlackBerry here. I don’t know very much about them. On the plus side, they’re quite light. On the negative side, most of them don’t have touch screens, they’re a little inflexible I think, and there’s not nearly as much third party software available as for Windows Mobile.
I’ve repeatedly bitched about my HTC Touch and don’t care to go through it again here.
But yesterday I had breakfast with a friend who just bought the latest version of the Touch, and she reported all of the same problems. 'Tis shite.
[quote=“Jaboney”]I’ve repeatedly bitched about my HTC Touch and don’t care to go through it again here.
But yesterday I had breakfast with a friend who just bought the latest version of the Touch, and she reported all of the same problems. 'Tis shite.[/quote]What do you mean by “the latest version of the Touch”? The Diamond?
What problems?
I could be equally vague and tell you my experience: that I and other people I know have found the Diamond to be pretty good; not shite at all. But that wouldn’t really get us anywhere either, would it?
It would be more helpful if you applied your rigorous IP debating style here…
I didn’t want to bore you by rehashing it.
I posted on it here:
[url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/apples-new-iphone/34982/144 to post[/url], and her phone is also an HTC Touch, not Diamond. Hope they got that one right.
[quote=“Jaboney”]I didn’t want to bore you by rehashing it.
I posted on it here:
[url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/apples-new-iphone/34982/144 to post[/url], and her phone is also an HTC Touch, not Diamond. Hope they got that one right.[/quote]Yeah, I remember now. That was weird. I don’t think that those problems are the norm though. I do know a few people using that first generation of Touch phones and they haven’t had any problems like that. As for the usability on those phones, the home screen was quite nice but most of the rest was standard Windows Mobile stuff, so often required stylus use to get the most out of it.
The new phones have a custom interface that goes further and deeper. It’s more intuitive and things like the onscreen keyboards and most applications are easily useable with fingers only. I think that’s the way to go.
(There may be OS updates available for the older phones too - not sure.)
I don’t know. Maybe the HTC he got was bad but you know how it goes, 1 negative review is worth like 11 glowing reviews or something like that.
That Treo does look really good, and slim as well.
The more I think about it the more the QWERTY isn’t so important. But maybe 3G is if I want to do Skypeout or whatever.
Maybe Nokia has a good skinny phone?
Alternatively, maybe could just get the 1st gen iPhone and cut a deal if I buy 2. They can’t be that expensive anymore. I think I read in Jaboney’s link that they’re at the GuangHua somewhere. I wonder if every phone is available there or what? Never shopped for a phone there, usually just networking or a/v stuff.
Nokia E71, but it doesn’t have a touch screen, but it’s got everything else you’re asking for.
Yes, you can get a BlackBerry here, but I think it’s only Taiwan Mobile who sells them and they don’t have the latest models. I have no idea how the service works here though.
The Nokia E71 is about 17k, the HTC Diamond/Touch P3702 goes for around 22k and the Touch Pro is 27k.
I’d also suggest checking out expansys.com.tw for a bigger selection of phones, they got a few brands you can’t normally get in Taiwan, although they’re sent from HK.
Afaik, most of the phone shops are in ximen ding, not around the computer market, although there are a few there.
[quote=“TheLostSwede”]Nokia E71, but it doesn’t have a touch screen, but it’s got everything else you’re asking for.
Yes, you can get a BlackBerry here, but I think it’s only Taiwan Mobile who sells them and they don’t have the latest models. I have no idea how the service works here though.
The Nokia E71 is about 17k, the HTC Diamond/Touch P3702 goes for around 22k and the Touch Pro is 27k.
I’d also suggest checking out expansys.com.tw for a bigger selection of phones, they got a few brands you can’t normally get in Taiwan, although they’re sent from HK.
Afaik, most of the phone shops are in ximen ding, not around the computer market, although there are a few there.[/quote]
Thanks mate. That E71 looks exactly like what I be lookin’ for. I like that it’s actually smaller than the iPhone, but still offers the qwerty inputs.
If this typhoon ever stops I’ll try and get out of the house to go try one out.
[quote=“joesax”] You should try the Touch Pro - I think it’s out already. It’s fairly similar to the Diamond but with a slide-out keyboard like the Experia. It does also have a touch screen though which I think you’d find very useful indeed. Most people who’ve used touchscreen phones for a while never want to go back to regular ones.
Phones such as the Touch Pro and the Experia may well be a lot cheaper with certain phone company contracts. You can already get the Diamond much cheaper than list price with a range of contracts from TWM and another company, Chunghwa (Zhonghua) I think.[/quote]
I’m pretty sure the Touch Pro isn’t out yet. I was going to check in Kaohsiung tomorrow, but there’s nothing on the htc.com.tw site and I called some stores last week - they knew nothing. All anyone knows is that it comes out mid-september.
I’m definitely waiting for it… either to pick that up or snatch up a Diamond when the prices drop.
I saw some reviews of the Touch Pro and it looks a bit clunky.
Been comparing the Symbian OS with Windows Mobile. I use PC for Outlook at work but at home it’s Mac and from what I read at least the Symbian should sync better with Mac.
But it got me thinking about all this stuff. How much will I really use the added features of a smartphone? I’ve got computers around pretty much anywhere I am. It’s only a 15-min scooter ride to work, so “commute-surfing” isn’t necessary.
Will probably just use it for calls and texting with an occasional email now and again when stuck somewhere boring. But using Skype over Wi-Fi would be a good way to keep in touch with people back home…maybe with Skype out.
So all of this added up makes me lean towards the E71 as it’s small and stylish but still got enough juice. After watching this review of the HTC Touch Pro, it just looks too large for me.
I wandered into a phone store in Gonguan today and the Nokia E71 was NT$14900. All the reviews I’ve read of this phone are extremely positive, and as my Treo is on its last legs I’m very tempted.
The touch screen and full keyboard become essentials once you get used to having them. I don’t know how people cope without. I think I may be falling in love with this slim shiny thang that is the E71.
Next question(s): Can you get this phone on a regular service plan with full unlimited internet, and wifi? Do the phone companies offer wifi services too? What’s this all going to cost?
I want to go to the store, do the paperwork and everything, and have the phone all set up and working before I walk out. I want to have sent and received email via both wifi and 3G before I believe any of the claims I read in the press or shell out the money.
By the way. I have a friend who managed to get his ordinary Nokia to synchronise with his google calendar.
Ok, just FYI, the E71 DOES NOT have a touch screen, so don’t buy it based on that.
There’s the Treo Pro as well palm.com/us/products/smartph … pro_launch
but I don’t think it’s available here as yet and it’s not exactly cheap, nor has it had rave reviews.
Me, I’m thinking about the SE G900 right now, as I want something a bit more pocket friendly…
You might be able to get a small discount on the handset price if you sign up for a years contract and yes, you can get 3G bundles and WiFi bundles and WiFly is available across most of Taipei at least and unlimited 3G is less than NT$1k a month, but various networks have slightly different deals, so you better ask around. Some even offer free WiFly with the unlimited 3G tariffs.
