yeah…it took 2 pages to get that line??? 
Looking to get a pda phone here in Taipei. Key issue appears to be none are available with an English Windows for mobile and skin software.
I assume there are some people out there who have solved this and can offer sagely advice of the where to go to get this done.
Cheers
Most smartphones with Windows available in Taiwan can easily be changed to English. Just change the setting.
Even the iphone is just a setting among many languages
Not the HTC Diamond - even got an email from them stating that “due to copyright reasons” they could not offer English OS in Taiwan. But they did wish me well in continuing to support their products…
With customer service of that caliber they can kiss my brown eye!
It’s not an HTC fault, it’s a Microsoft licensing issue, however, most phone shops here can re-flash the phones with the English OS for you and it’s easy to add Chinese support, there’s a thread here somewhere about it and I’ve still got the files on my site if anyone needs them.
HTC Diamond will not do English if purchased in Taiwan? How do they expect to compete? Bet their shareholders would not be happy to know they are not making sales for this.
ahhh, it is becoming more clear now.
Since US companies lock their phones, and Taiwanese companies (as well as most countries in the region) do not lock their phone, companies like HTC do not want to sell an unlocked English version of their phone. Must be some type of agreement with US phone companies.
Wonder if one can get an unlocked English version of the HTC Diamond, as most other phone are available there unlocked.
[quote=“TheLostSwede”]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.[/quote]
Having a touch screen isn’t a big deal for me.
Good idea on the 3G/WiFly bundle. Will have to check into it.
Of course the iPhone has been considered. Where can I get one in Taipei? I guess it would have to be a market deal or something?
I’m surprised the iPhone 3G hasn’t been announced for release yet.
Well, it’s because of the way mobile phones are sold here, no-one will make money on the iPhone 3G going for NT$6.5k when you wouldn’t have to spend more than 1k a month on the tariff. In the rest of the world you pay a premium for the tariff, in the US it’s US$40-60 or something like that and it’s even more in the UK and that doesn’t include the same kind of unlimited 3G as you get here, as they generally have a fair usage deal which doesn’t seem to apply in Taiwan.
As long as there’s no sensible way of making money out if it, it’ll never sell for that low price and as Apple announced the 8GB version for US$199, there’s just no way it could be sold for the same kind of money here the way things are. It’s even less likely that Apple will sell it for a higher price here, at least not with a contract, but it might become available on a pre-paid basis like it’s just started to do in other parts of the world.
I talked to an HTC store in Taiwan. They told me they would not flash it to English for me and if I did flash it to English myself, it would void the 1-year warranty.
I’m learning Chinese anyway, so I’d just keep the Chinese OS, but yeah, pretty offputting for others that want to buy it and need English.
[quote=“TheLostSwede”]Well, it’s because of the way mobile phones are sold here, no-one will make money on the iPhone 3G going for NT$6.5k when you wouldn’t have to spend more than 1k a month on the tariff. In the rest of the world you pay a premium for the tariff, in the US it’s US$40-60 or something like that and it’s even more in the UK and that doesn’t include the same kind of unlimited 3G as you get here, as they generally have a fair usage deal which doesn’t seem to apply in Taiwan.
As long as there’s no sensible way of making money out if it, it’ll never sell for that low price and as Apple announced the 8GB version for US$199, there’s just no way it could be sold for the same kind of money here the way things are. It’s even less likely that Apple will sell it for a higher price here, at least not with a contract, but it might become available on a pre-paid basis like it’s just started to do in other parts of the world.[/quote]
Sure, that’s understandable. It seems that there aren’t a lot of incentives for Apple to do business in Taiwan.
So does anyone know where is the best place and best price to get the 1st Gen iPhone in Taiwan?
A few friends got the iPhone 3G from overseas, but not sure if it’s really worth jumping through all the loops to get one.
I suggest taking it to a non-HTC store.
You can always flash the HTC phones back to Chinese before you take it back if it needs to be fixed for some or another reason.
I saw some iPhones around Nova near the main train station and I guess they’ll have them in any half decent phone shop here, but as they don’t do 3G, you can’t get one of the combined 3G/WiFi tariffs and 2/2.5G data costs are much higher.
[quote=“TheLostSwede”]You can always flash the HTC phones back to Chinese before you take it back if it needs to be fixed for some or another reason.
I saw some iPhones around Nova near the main train station and I guess they’ll have them in any half decent phone shop here, but as they don’t do 3G, you can’t get one of the combined 3G/WiFi tariffs and 2/2.5G data costs are much higher.[/quote]I don’t think it works that way, actually. I think unlimited data is unlimited any way you slice it.
For example, with my 2.5G Treo 680, I have the same choice of plans on TWM that I would have if I had a 3G phone. I used to be on a 399 NT data plan with a 1,200 NT maximum–so for my 399 I’d get a certain amount of data, but if I used more than that I’d be charged accordingly up to a maximum of 1,200. However, if I’d wanted to pay a higher fixed monthly rate–700 NT I think–I’d have unlimited data with no extra charges.
Looking at the TWM promotional leaflet for the Diamond, the plans look exactly the same.
I don’t think it works that way, actually. I think unlimited data is unlimited any way you slice it.
For example, with my 2.5G Treo 680, I have the same choice of plans on TWM that I would have if I had a 3G phone. I used to be on a 399 NT data plan with a 1,200 NT maximum–so for my 399 I’d get a certain amount of data, but if I used more than that I’d be charged accordingly up to a maximum of 1,200. However, if I’d wanted to pay a higher fixed monthly rate–700 NT I think–I’d have unlimited data with no extra charges.[/quote]
I just called TWM to ask about this.
The person I spoke to said there is no combined tariff. You have one plan for calls/SMS and another for “GPRS”.
I thought GPRS was 2.5G, and 3G was the newer technology, but she was adamant that “you can use GPRS with your 3G phone.” In other words, one of us doesn’t know shit. In any case, there is only one type of payment plan for GPRS/3G and you pay for that in addition to the call plan.
She went off to ask someone what Wifi was, as “we don’t offer other services except calls and internet,” and came back to report that they don’t offer a Wifi service and if I want it I can buy it from a coffee shop. Great, so no combined tariffs of any kind.
Also, they don’t offer the Nokia E71. So if I want one I have to go and buy it and then figure out how to make it work. 
Why is nothing easy? Technology is supposed to make things easy.
I don’t think it works that way, actually. I think unlimited data is unlimited any way you slice it.
For example, with my 2.5G Treo 680, I have the same choice of plans on TWM that I would have if I had a 3G phone. I used to be on a 399 NT data plan with a 1,200 NT maximum–so for my 399 I’d get a certain amount of data, but if I used more than that I’d be charged accordingly up to a maximum of 1,200. However, if I’d wanted to pay a higher fixed monthly rate–700 NT I think–I’d have unlimited data with no extra charges.[/quote]
I just called TWM to ask about this.
The person I spoke to said there is no combined tariff. You have one plan for calls/SMS and another for “GPRS”.
I thought GPRS was 2.5G, and 3G was the newer technology, but she was adamant that “you can use GPRS with your 3G phone.” In other words, one of us doesn’t know shit. In any case, there is only one type of payment plan for GPRS/3G and you pay for that in addition to the call plan.
She went off to ask someone what Wifi was, as “we don’t offer other services except calls and internet,” and came back to report that they don’t offer a Wifi service and if I want it I can buy it from a coffee shop. Great, so no combined tariffs of any kind.
Also, they don’t offer the Nokia E71. So if I want one I have to go and buy it and then figure out how to make it work.
Why is nothing easy? Technology is supposed to make things easy.[/quote]I think that person got confused over the word “plan”. It’s not a separate plan as such, but yes, there is a separate itemized charge for data services on my phone bill.
By the way, 2G is plain old GPRS I think, and 2.5G is EDGE- basically a sped up version of the same thing. The first generation iPhone is an EDGE device.
3G/3.5G phones fall back to EDGE or GPRS when the faster services aren’t available in a particular area.
[quote=“Loretta”]
I just called TWM to ask about this.
The person I spoke to said there is no combined tariff. You have one plan for calls/SMS and another for “GPRS”.
I thought GPRS was 2.5G, and 3G was the newer technology, but she was adamant that “you can use GPRS with your 3G phone.” In other words, one of us doesn’t know shit. In any case, there is only one type of payment plan for GPRS/3G and you pay for that in addition to the call plan.
She went off to ask someone what Wifi was, as “we don’t offer other services except calls and internet,” and came back to report that they don’t offer a Wifi service and if I want it I can buy it from a coffee shop. Great, so no combined tariffs of any kind.
Also, they don’t offer the Nokia E71. So if I want one I have to go and buy it and then figure out how to make it work.
Why is nothing easy? Technology is supposed to make things easy.[/quote]
She is right in saying that you can use GPRS with your 3G phone. You, however, are right that GPRS is inferior to 3G and that means that if you’re getting a GPRS contract, you’re not using your phone’s 3G potential. However, I think there isn’t really any sort of contract that differentiates between GPRS and 3G - the contract is for data traffic. If your phone and SIM card are capable of handling 3G, and there is a 3G reception (which there is in all the big and even most small cities), then you’re fine with that. If there isn’t, there’s always GPRS, which just is a lot slower, but not more or less expensive.
As for WiFi, the same thing: if your phone can handle it, you can use it. Phone companies don’t offer WiFi contracts as it depends on whose WiFi you are using. If there is an open, free connection, you can use your phone to connect to it and use the internet freely. If you want to hook up to the Taipei WiFi network or the coffeeshop ones, you have to get an account with them.
Yup, NT$399 minimum fee, and if you spend more then it goes up as high as NT$1100 maximum.
Or NT$699-NT$800, I think. I wasn’t really paying attention as I was busy adding this to my monthly NT$1500 phone bill and the grand that I pay for ADSL. How much would I spend on Wifi?
Should I give up sending SMS (my biggest expense) and start sending emails, reduce my phone payment plan, try to find a good Wifi provider (or combination of providers) and not bother with GPRS/3G? Suggestions?
I’m seriously tempted to go out and buy the Nokia RIGHT NOW!
PS - My phone contract is long-expired. At the moment I get a rebate on anything I spend over the NT$1500, up to NT$250. If I used the whole amount every month that would add up to a fair chunk of change over a year or two - but I don’t always use it and I’m not sure how long it’s going to last anyway.
Maybe if I can find a company that sells the phone on a plan I should do so, get myself a new number, and switch my existing SIM to the lowest-cost plan for a few months?
Yup, NT$399 minimum fee, and if you spend more then it goes up as high as NT$1100 maximum.
Or NT$699-NT$800, I think. I wasn’t really paying attention as I was busy adding this to my monthly NT$1500 phone bill and the grand that I pay for ADSL. How much would I spend on Wifi?
Should I give up sending SMS (my biggest expense) and start sending emails, reduce my phone payment plan, try to find a good Wifi provider (or combination of providers) and not bother with GPRS/3G? Suggestions?
I’m seriously tempted to go out and buy the Nokia RIGHT NOW!
PS - My phone contract is long-expired. At the moment I get a rebate on anything I spend over the NT$1500, up to NT$250. If I used the whole amount every month that would add up to a fair chunk of change over a year or two - but I don’t always use it and I’m not sure how long it’s going to last anyway.
Maybe if I can find a company that sells the phone on a plan I should do so, get myself a new number, and switch my existing SIM to the lowest-cost plan for a few months?[/quote]That’s quite a high monthly rate for phone calls/SMS’s. If you don’t spend that much then why not go onto a cheaper plan anyway?
Do you mean that you’d send e-mails instead of SMSing? I wouldn’t be able to do that. When I send an SMS it’s usually because I need to make sure the other person gets it straight away.
As for wi-fi, are you always within range of a hotspot whenever you need to send an e-mail? If not, you might want to get some kind of data plan, whether or not you get a wi-fi subscription too. Plain text e-mails aren’t very big anyway. You can send and receive quite a few without even paying extra on a 399 NT plan.
Yup, NT$399 minimum fee, and if you spend more then it goes up as high as NT$1100 maximum.
Or NT$699-NT$800, I think. I wasn’t really paying attention as I was busy adding this to my monthly NT$1500 phone bill and the grand that I pay for ADSL. How much would I spend on Wifi?
Should I give up sending SMS (my biggest expense) and start sending emails, reduce my phone payment plan, try to find a good Wifi provider (or combination of providers) and not bother with GPRS/3G? Suggestions?
I’m seriously tempted to go out and buy the Nokia RIGHT NOW!
PS - My phone contract is long-expired. At the moment I get a rebate on anything I spend over the NT$1500, up to NT$250. If I used the whole amount every month that would add up to a fair chunk of change over a year or two - but I don’t always use it and I’m not sure how long it’s going to last anyway.
Maybe if I can find a company that sells the phone on a plan I should do so, get myself a new number, and switch my existing SIM to the lowest-cost plan for a few months?[/quote]
I would definately not rely on just WiFi. I have no signal in my home in central Taipei. I find it doesn’t work optimally on my phone anyway (I’m using an HTC Tytn II / Kaiser). You would probably be switching between different providers all the time and that’s not going to work out any cheaper.
As mentioned, if you use the internet mostly for plain text emails and googling stuff or checking the news, you’re unlikely to use up monstrous amounts of data. Just don’t go streaming anything.