iphone

[User00001]

Right, it looks like I need a new phone with internet caperbility (will shortly be losing home internet completely).

Network coverage is rubbish on all networks in the area where I live.

I had pretty much decided on an iphone 4s but then found loads of issues/rumours on the internet about excessive and mysterious data useage costing people loads of money.

I know that at some point I am going to do my annual experdition into a town and be talked down to by spotty youth who is far more clever than me but I thought I would ask the advice of real people first.

Anyone have first hand experience/advice please?

 

[urx]

Latest Samsung Galaxy blows the Ifail into the weeds
and I have an iphone4

 

[Roedinator]

Glyn i was in the same boat as you about six months ago
i settled for an I phone 5 which has been brilliant on 0/2
network get an otter box case and your sorted regards
Pete

 

[al4x1]

If you are going to rely on the phone for internet connectivity then really you want to find out which network has the best 3g signal. I'm a bit of a technophobe but i do find my Iphone4 pretty easy to use and its fine for basic web use and e-mails etc and not bad to call people on either. being based outside town though the internet is great when on our wireless connection but very variable as you move about, I can get a great signal up the odd highseat then the other side of the farm nothing

 

[paul o']

wife has i4 hates it, pal has i4 hates it , one is 02 net the other is on ee was orange both get dropped service! so look for a network that is the best nr your home.
i am on ee/orange and have a galx 3 happy with phone with bigger screen and buttons and got a free notepad ? ,before it change to ee i could get a good service in most places from the middle of the chanel to glen co now its next to shat with a poor service in the outlying parts of the uk or some towns !! i'll be looking into a bt network jobby next time

 

[Yorkshire lad]

I've had all the iPhone now. If you don't have 3G network coverage you will find the Internet very slow. Phone signal is very sporadic and unpredictable. They are a great phone if you use all its features, if not dont get one. If I was you I would get a pay as you go dongle for the laptop and buy a simple phone.

 

[flyingfisherman]

Yes, had iPhones for 5 years or so now, currently have the 4s. Would say that un commanded data usage is a bit of a myth.. I think that people getting large data bills is more down to not knowing how to use the phone, for instance leaving data roaming etc on while abroad. Regardless of what make of internet enabled phone you have, if you dont know how to use it, you may end up with data useage charges.

I avoided the iPhone 5 as they changed the charger connection on the 5, rendering any iPhone accessories you own for pre iphone 5 as useless, so im sticking with the 4s (hoping apple see the error of their ways!)

If your losing internet at home, and signal is poor on all networks, then you will struggle to get an internet enabled phone to work in that area, again regardless of make?

I also live in an area with seriously patch phone signal but have gone down the route of a Three MiFi internet option, it actually works really well, gives me faster internet than the broadband in the house (we live in the sticks a bit) and its not the standard dongle which is plugged into your laptop, it is effectively a wireless router, but instead of getting its internet through the landline, it sucks it from the 3G signal. Other nice thing is that you can take it away with you, so people in the car can stream films or you dont have to pay for internet in hotels, or sit and surf SD when your in a caravan on a rainy stalking trip away!!

Nice thing about Three MiFi is that you dont pay line rental and it is generally faster than broadband if your at the end of the line so to speak, obviously subject to signal..

http://store.three.co.uk/Mobile_Broadband/MiFi

 

[Fabnosh]

Hi there

I have one and would not recommend it. All the internet stuff is great and I would struggle to do without that but I use the phone for business and, as such, I need to make calls (from both the UK and abroad) and need a decent battery life - after all it is first and foremost a phone

I find that where other manufacturers phones don't struggle getting a signal (side by side mark one eyeball test) even on the same network the iphone is does. This, coupled with a pathetic battery life and I would be pushed to recommend it to a business....or probably for that matter....a heavy domestic user.

With the iphone you can't change the battery yourself so when its duty cycle finally dies it's a factory job and you can't upgrade the memory. It is also relatively fragile

It was originally a ground breaking device that transformed the market but the competition has caught up and largely improved on the basic concept.

The iphone is a bit like a religion for many in that there are devotees that ignore the obvious failings and increased capability that other products now have. To mind mind it's a tool and given the current market, probably not the best tool for the job.

Hope that helps


FN

 

[Jager SA]

Had iPhones since they came out...I'm on the 5 and it's the second one ive had thus far...***** is what I think, software glitches, loss of signal, calls dropping out, you name it! It's a shame because they are so good to use when they work!

 

[PointBlank]

Samsung galaxy is the best in my opinion.

 

[daw]

Whatever phone you go with (I have the Iphone 4), consider using Giffgaff as your service provider. I pay £10 month for 500 mins UK calls, unlimited texts, 1GB internet, free calls to other Giffgaff users. You can pay a bit more if you do need more internet access. Giffgaff uses O2 network. If you find it doesn't suit then no problem as you are not signed into any contract. Let me know if you want a simcard (we both get extra £5 credit!)
Regards David

 

[User00001]

Brilliant, thanks for all the advice so far. Samsung Galaxy S4 is looking good, unlimited calls and texts plus 2somethings of data (no idea what this is about but its twice as much as one so i'm impressed!), on vodaphone for £38/month.

 

[davidm]

Brilliant, thanks for all the advice so far. Samsung Galaxy S4 is looking good, unlimited calls and texts plus 2somethings of data (no idea what this is about but its twice as much as one so i'm impressed!), on vodaphone for £38/month.

Gb of data is your monthly allowance for Internet, I have 3gb and I'm constantly on my phone emails, Internet the lot and am never over my allowance. Am sure someone will have a more technical term but that's the way I see it.

I would put a vote in for iPhone 5 but its only because the apple after care is great and a can't imagine changing after having all the iPhones.

 

[stig]

Hi Glyn... having used both Samsung and iPhone (currently using Samsung S3 and I hate it - work makes me!) I would personally go iPhone (4S probably). I've never heard of issues with excessive data use/bill shock other than idiots watching BBC iPlayer on the mobile network overseas...

For you there remain 2 challenges:

1) Signal - but you know this... just make sure you sign up to the right network for your location regardless of phone
2) Protection - (no, not that type)... for your line of work I'd really be getting something like this: http://www.griffintechnology.com/survivor/original I've fixed too many broken screens on friend's phones who work in countryside management... my S3 screen is currently covered in cracks! Just wear protection, it's much easier

Hope you're well - I still owe you breakfast!

Stig

 

[Virbius]

The calls/texts/data per month are irrelevant as each provider will offer a package that will in all probability be far more than you will use.
I have an iPhone with Vodafone. I have a charger left by the bedside and just get into the habit of charging it every night, so battery life is not an issue.
Rural signal can vary from none to virtually nothing, rarely anything worthwhile. Some handsets can do better than others but I am still of the opinion that the iPhone has never really sorted out the aerial issue - i.e. the metal surround is the aerial and it can be temperamental. It is also a well known fault that the iPhone handset will tell you you have a full signal, or 3G when you clearly don't!
If you are into facebook, twitter. rss feeds etc then there are better software platforms than iPhone that make it a fully-interactive and fluid operating system - I have a friend who has a Nokia and he loves it, but I'm not into all that stuff.
As a multi-functional integrated device with phone, music player, GPS, app-player, web-browser, camera it is great and in a compact unit

Shame the phone part isn't better though, I think you could do better.

Edit- on reflection, the telephone capability is actually truly awful in terms of signal and calls dropping out and I am close to replacing it with an alternative - you should look at other options.

 

[Steyer 6.5]

i vote i phone. had 3,4 and took delivery of my new 5 today. I agree with others that this data usage is a myth but you must turn data roaming off abroad. im on O2 again after a brief stint with Virgin who use the orange network. ive never had problems with O2 coverage apart from very remote areas. Had more call faiols with Virgin. Ive got a few mates with Galaxy and they are massive and they seem to be having software problems. with the phone not registering the sim and micro sd card (thats a small memory card).

i always tap into my home WIFI network and use Mcdonalds when near them. I also tether my lap top and ipad from my phone if out and about but that eats data. I use mine constantly and agree the battery needs to be improved. Ive killed two iphones drown one and the other was faulty but a quick call to apple shop and twenty minutes turn around and phone replaced.

One hard and fast rule always back your phone up. My partner managed to flush her 4s done a loo (dont ask) losing 1500 images of our kids and family. Not backed up and all lost.

plus all these android and iphone have great apps for use in the field Ballistic tables, GPS tracking etc etc

 

[norma 308]

The wife is apple everything at home and work and even she likes my HTC one .....or is it she likes snooping my phone ?
Norma

 

[finnbear270]

IPhone 4S, zero issues, charge every night, or on vehicle socket charger, It's just about good housekeeping really.

 

[salopsniper]

I have a iphone 4 and love it. a new samsug may well blow it out of the water but in 12 months time the iphone will still be going strong and the samsung and the likes will of pegged it!

I used to have a samsung as did the Mrs and we had nokis and HTC`s .......They all started out great but died and ground to a halt after 6months degrading weekly with freezing, cutting calls, failing to opperate correctly etc.

Ive had the iphone and its been brillient since day one and i have no reason to want to chage it. Am an Iphone convert !

 

[Steyer 6.5]

if you have or get iphone get a griffin survivour case. Militery spec case check http://youtu.be/F0XJtbYaEbM check this bad boy out and yes ive chucked me phone down the stairs and i have yet to get water in it and it keeps sawdust out. IMO it beats the otterbox