Travel Technology - Recommend a good cell phone?

I'll be going through SIN and BAH duty free very soon and want to buy a good mobile phone. I don't have one now but would like to find a good quality phone that can access Internet and email but doesn't break the budget. I have no real need for a built-in camera. I really am in the dark because I have no experience with mobile phone. Just have decided that having one would be an excellent idea. Will want tri band for travel. Are Treo 600 or Nokia 6600 or 6820 good buys?

I live in Saudi Arabia so am not restricted to buying a phone with a 'plan' attached. Could I buy a SIM card in the US perhaps?

Sure would appreciate any/all suggestions and considerations. Thanks.

I'll be going through SIN and BAH duty free very soon and want to buy a good mobile phone. I don't have one now but would like to find a good quality phone that can access Internet and email but doesn't break the budget. I have no real need for a built-in camera. I really am in the dark because I have no experience with mobile phone. Just have decided that having one would be an excellent idea. Will want tri band for travel. Are Treo 600 or Nokia 6600 or 6820 good buys?

I live in Saudi Arabia so am not restricted to buying a phone with a 'plan' attached. Could I buy a SIM card in the US perhaps?

Sure would appreciate any/all suggestions and considerations. Thanks.

I adore my Treo 600. I had a 270 before that and I upgraded as soon as Palm offered the upgrade. I take it everywhere I go and I can't imagine how I lived without it before this April!

If you can get it, the Nokia 7610 is good (1 megapixel, similar to the 6600, just smaller and lighter). The Treo's and other are also good ideas. Do you want a keyboard? Are you OK with the camera (e.g. no local govt rules where you live/work in Saudi?) A lot of us who have to go onto government or secure private installations are being asked to leave the cameras behind.

For a decent internet experience on the phone a keyboard does help. A better OS (Symbian on some of the Nokia's, Sony Ericssons, Siemens), a real app processor (sorry going technical on you) and a good browser.

The Treo has no complaints... Neither do most of the Symbian based phones... Another option are the MS Mobile phones (WIndows Smartphone and Pocket PC.) The difference being Windows Smartphone devices have no keyboard or pen input like the Pocket PC phones would.

Although it breaks my heart to say it, I would venture that the better bargain in this area will be found in SIN rather than BAH.

As an early adopter of all kinds of PDA devices....from a Psion 3a in 1995 through numerous iPaqs etcetera I am of the opinion that smartphones are still a technology that needs to mature.

Therefore I would suggest the Sony Ericsson T610 or the latest variant, the T630. Triband, reliable, good interface, nice size with a good set of PDA-style functions (comprehensive address book, calendar, to-do lists).

I use mine with a Mac Powerbook with Bluetooth and the syncronisation is magic.

Although it breaks my heart to say it, I would venture that the better bargain in this area will be found in SIN rather than BAH.

As an early adopter of all kinds of PDA devices....from a Psion 3a in 1995 through numerous iPaqs etcetera I am of the opinion that smartphones are still a technology that needs to mature.

Therefore I would suggest the Sony Ericsson T610 or the latest variant, the T630. Triband, reliable, good interface, nice size with a good set of PDA-style functions (comprehensive address book, calendar, to-do lists).

I use mine with a Mac Powerbook with Bluetooth and the syncronisation is magic.

You are running behind... T630? Old school :D

The K700 should be available in SIN by now, mucho nice :D

As said earlier, the newest Nokia is certainly one to consider.

is duty free in SIN the best place to buy a phone in Singapore?

Well since you want a Tri-band phone that will work for you where ever you travel in the world, might I suggest you look at the Siemens series of phones.

I have owned a Siemens S46 since it was released to the market about 2 years ago and the reliability and ease of use is great. I have been able to use the phone worldwide with prepaid SIM's that I purchased from a website at

www.telestial.com

The phone has web access however, since the screen is Monochrome, there are limits as to what you can see with it. Remember still, most websites still do not support PDA devices for access due to the bandwidth problems that still plague the current industry.

If you need a phone that can receive email and that you can reply to fairly easily, you will probably want one that has a Thumbboard in which to type messages quickly. I would reccomend that you speak to your IT Manager at your company to see if the email system has been configured to forward email. Many companies do not have this feature enabled as they do not have a Secure VPN established for accessing the email server.

If you are just looking for email services for say Yahoo, Hotmail, or a third party email host, you should be able to configure the unit just as you desire to have them forwarded to the device.

I myself use a Sub Notebook PC for email rather than trying to use some pocket PC/mobile phone when traveling light. My laptop has a wireless adapter that I can connect to wireless hotspots all over the globe as well as an adapter so that I can use it with my Siemens mobile phone. With that being said, I am able to use my phone as it should be. I have a regular OS that has a useable software and a true way that I can answer email effectively.

Curerntly the ONLY cell phone that can even access regular website pages is made by Kyocera, however the phone is not yet available outside of Japan and the phone must use the Symbian mode of messaging. Not very effective for replying to corporate email now is it?

So, for the time being might I suggest that you use a cell phone for calls and a PC for email and webpages until technology improves with features like voice recognition for replying to email via a PDA.

Curerntly the ONLY cell phone that can even access regular website pages is made by Kyocera, however the phone is not yet available outside of Japan and the phone must use the Symbian mode of messaging. Not very effective for replying to corporate email now is it?


Maybe somebody should tell Nokia. I have no problem accessing any web page I point my 6600 to.

SPG-DL TRAVELER, I can name at least 50 phones that can access the web, and probably 50 more once you load a java web browser like Webviewer by Reqwireless.

Well since you want a Tri-band phone that will work for you where ever you travel in the world, might I suggest you look at the Siemens series of phones.
...
So, for the time being might I suggest that you use a cell phone for calls and a PC for email and webpages until technology improves with features like voice recognition for replying to email via a PDA.

Was this post written in 1998, by any chance, and just caught in a time-warp somehow? Monochrome Siemens with the World's Clunkiest OS™? Why not just recommend an analog StarTac? :rolleyes: No web browser? No email?Tell that to the T610 sitting on my desk that has no problem with normal HTML web sites and a built-in IMAP client that even syncs message-read status over the air with Outlook.

Wanderer, I'm going to be in SIN in a few weeks (also HKG) looking at phones as well. Currently on my "must have" list is a Motorola A630, but I doubt they'll be available there by then. I may have to get a K700, which as ScottC says, is the bees knees these days. It may be too late for you but I'll update what I was able to find when I return.

Curerntly the ONLY cell phone that can even access regular website pages is made by Kyocera, however the phone is not yet available outside of Japan and the phone must use the Symbian mode of messaging. Not very effective for replying to corporate email now is it?

So, for the time being might I suggest that you use a cell phone for calls and a PC for email and webpages until technology improves with features like voice recognition for replying to email via a PDA.

What is the Symbian mode of messaging? Symbian is a UK developed Operating system used in Nokia Series60 phones and SonyEricsson/Motorola UIQ devices.

As for voice recognition on a PDA, have you ever tried voice recognition on a desktop pc? It doesn't work, even after 25 years of development. So to wait till a PDA can do that might take a bit ;)

is duty free in SIN the best place to buy a phone in Singapore?

I can't imagine that it would be. Remember that you can get a GST refund anyway, so there's really no duty to be concerned with.

I have found some reasonable deals on cameras and phones at Lucky Plaza on Orchard Road near Scotts Road. I'm sure not the absolute cheapest deals out there, but they are stable merchants you can find again if you have a problem. Just visit a few different vendors to get an idea of what the real price is.

Duty free is never the best place to buy a phone, you can't haggle with the sales person and their assortment is usually limited...

I have found some reasonable deals on cameras and phones at Lucky Plaza on Orchard Road near Scotts Road.

Scott lives in SIN? :confused:

Scott lives in SIN? :confused:

ScottC is everywhere. He is not even in the system. He is above and beyond the system:D:D:D

The K700 should be available in SIN by now, mucho nice :D

:td:

Can't expand the memory, what good is that?

:td:

Can't expand the memory, what good is that?

Agreed. It's the nr.1 annoyance everyone has with it.

I am not a gadgety kind of person. What I look for in a cellphone is looks :), ease of use, and size (small).
I looked at K700 (around USD400 here in Indonesia), but finally got myself Nokia 6230.
The K700 doesn't really look good nor feel good in my hand.