Buying a touch phone in Pattays

[teelack 9,636]

I met a guy last time there who had bought a touch phone at a great price. He had bargained like hell and got it at around the 1000 baht mark. He seemed moderately happy but I am not as smart as one of these phones and wonder what others think.

 

Are they good value?

 

Can they be relied on when outside of Thailand?

 

Are they just a heap of crap awaiting a mug to buy one?

 

What sort of prices are being paid?

[Kev 178]

Teelack,

 

Did you leave a zero off that price?

1,000 bahts for a touch phone is bloody cheap, more like 10,000.

Also what type of phone is it?

 

Myself (and you if you are in OZ) I have a Nolia N8 on the Optus $29 plan, good deal, I never go over the $180 inlcuded calls and the 200MB data limit. For overseas calls I use the Lebara mobile card (in old mobile), which was recommened on here and is a bloody good deal.

[bigstuy 8]

your friend lied, last march it was 8,000 for a bad chinese i-phone copy.

my advice is to buy it at home on a contract

Edited August 31, 2011 by bigstuy

[captcraig2 120]

You can buy it on a two year contract. Contract reads that if you move out their service area you can cancel your contract, normally with no cost

[Gary 4,118]

Some of the knockoffs look pretty good but they are junk. A friend of mine bought a Nokiga that looked like a genuine Nokia but I wouldn't have given a hundred baht for it. If you are going to buy a high end phone, you better know how to be sure it is the genuine article.

 

I hate touch screen phones but do like the features of smart phones. I use an E52 Nokia that does everything the iPhone does at less than half the price of the iPhone. It has about five times the battery life of an iPhone. Different strokes for different folks.

 

I had a touch screen phone that did everything but I hated it. I loaned it to a down and out friend of mine because his laptop died and he is not able to replace it. He is all but broke. He LOVES the touch screen phone and says he will buy it from me when he gets back on his feet. Unfortunately he will NEVER get back on his feet. I thought it was better that he used it rather than let it lay in a drawer.

[chris2004 67]

Touch screen phones are GREAT, i have a Samsung Galaxy S2 and i love it. But i would recommend you buy a genuine one. It is tempting to get a copy for a few thousand but they are junk and don't last long. A genuine one will last several years and is cheaper (and much better) in the long run.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

I use an E52 Nokia that does everything the iPhone does at less than half the price of the iPhone. It has about five times the battery life of an iPhone.

 

Providing you're not doing anything stupid such as using it to talk to other people.

 

The standby time is just over twice as much as the iphone, but the iphone gives you almost twice as much talktime. A pretty useful feature on a phone, I'd say.

 

 

Edited September 1, 2011 by CheshireTom

[Gabor 296]

I bought this original ( ZTE Libra ) and happy with it... ( 7.000 baht ) Knows almost the same like the SAMSUNG Galaxy S2.. ( a bit slower.. not noticable and no gorilla display.. must put a film on the display ... that's all )

 

[darkmancomes 75]

your friend lied, last march it was 8,000 for a bad chinese i-phone copy.

my advice is to buy it at home on a contract

 

Totally agree been there done that bought several of them. One I was actually using when there and ok it worked not as responsive as a proper touch screen but nevertheless, but on the way home on the plane with it in my pocket the screen cracked! I have used my Galaxy 9000i this past 2 times same conditions no problems. This would appear to be one of the bad points thin screen.

[jimbob999 4]

Apple Iphone, in China a least 4 shops have been found to be phoney fronts, and by that I mean Apple Iphone retail outlets where even the staff and management team thought they where working for an Apple franchise but turned out to be a scam selling cheap copies on contract, now thats clever

[Gary 4,118]

Providing you're not doing anything stupid such as using it to talk to other people.

 

The standby time is just over twice as much as the iphone, but the iphone gives you almost twice as much talktime. A pretty useful feature on a phone, I'd say.

 

 

 

Actually the E52 does have Assisted GPS. I keep it turned off and don't use it anyways. I have several dedicated Garmin units, actually four of them and even the two hand helds are MUCH better than any phone I have seen.

 

I am a bit hard of hearing and the audio qualities of the Nokia are excellent. As far as applications, I only use two of them. The SMS Spam and call blocker and a Thai English/ English Thai translator. I tried several other applications and actually found them to be just toys and of VERY little practical use.

 

I belong to Audible book club and on occasion do listen to the audio books on my phone. Two of my Garmin GPS units also play the Audible format books through my car stereo system.

 

The WiFi is handy to read emails but the EDGE is just about as good. No way am I going to try to type with the tiny keyboard on any smart phone. I have a net book that is much better for traveling and surfing.

 

Maybe the best part is the price. It is about a 10,000 baht phone. I don't know what the latest iPhone costs but I'm sure it is MUCH more expensive. I normally charge my phone every Sunday but it will easily last longer than that. There is no 3G at all where I live so I have never tried that feature.

 

PS - I DIDN'T have to hack the phone before I could use it.