I find myself being dragged into the smart phone era.
I used to have a smart phone, an unlocked Samsung Galaxy, which I bought for under $100 and hardly ever used, so I ended up giving it away.

Now I find that smart phones cost a lot more. I’ve got to ask, a smart phone for over $2,000, is it diamond encrusted, or is it it designed to be safe when run over by a steamroller?

What should I look for in a smart phone? Got a favourite?

mollwollfumble said:

I find myself being dragged into the smart phone era.
I used to have a smart phone, an unlocked Samsung Galaxy, which I bought for under $100 and hardly ever used, so I ended up giving it away.

Now I find that smart phones cost a lot more. I’ve got to ask, a smart phone for over $2,000, is it diamond encrusted, or is it it designed to be safe when run over by a steamroller?

What should I look for in a smart phone? Got a favourite?

Buy a new phone released 3 years ago so any bugs have been well and truly sorted and you get this gleaming device for 25% the price of a 2022 model.

Ask 100 people and you’ll get 200 different answers.

Witty Rejoinder said:

mollwollfumble said:

I find myself being dragged into the smart phone era.
I used to have a smart phone, an unlocked Samsung Galaxy, which I bought for under $100 and hardly ever used, so I ended up giving it away.

Now I find that smart phones cost a lot more. I’ve got to ask, a smart phone for over $2,000, is it diamond encrusted, or is it it designed to be safe when run over by a steamroller?

What should I look for in a smart phone? Got a favourite?

Buy a new phone released 3 years ago so any bugs have been well and truly sorted and you get this gleaming device for 25% the price of a 2022 model.

I use phones that i salvage from ‘electronic waste’ box at work. I’m using a Samsung Galaxy that’s only 3-4 years old, and it’s fine.

Found an old Nokia 5110 in there a while back. Keep meaning to charge it up, just for old time’s sake.

mollwollfumble said:

I find myself being dragged into the smart phone era.
I used to have a smart phone, an unlocked Samsung Galaxy, which I bought for under $100 and hardly ever used, so I ended up giving it away.

Now I find that smart phones cost a lot more. I’ve got to ask, a smart phone for over $2,000, is it diamond encrusted, or is it it designed to be safe when run over by a steamroller?

What should I look for in a smart phone? Got a favourite?

Caterpillar S61 or S62.

They are waterproof(underwater camera), they have a laser for measuring distance(or having fun with actual cats), have an infrared camera(really useful), have an air quality monitor, an air pressure gauge, altimeter, drop proof, big battery, can have an extra dual SIM, or an extra micro SD card, and also do all the things that all the other smart phones do.

Kingy said:

mollwollfumble said:

I find myself being dragged into the smart phone era.
I used to have a smart phone, an unlocked Samsung Galaxy, which I bought for under $100 and hardly ever used, so I ended up giving it away.

Now I find that smart phones cost a lot more. I’ve got to ask, a smart phone for over $2,000, is it diamond encrusted, or is it it designed to be safe when run over by a steamroller?

What should I look for in a smart phone? Got a favourite?

Caterpillar S61 or S62.

They are waterproof(underwater camera), they have a laser for measuring distance(or having fun with actual cats), have an infrared camera(really useful), have an air quality monitor, an air pressure gauge, altimeter, drop proof, big battery, can have an extra dual SIM, or an extra micro SD card, and also do all the things that all the other smart phones do.

OK, now i want one.

captain_spalding said:

Found an old Nokia 5110 in there a while back. Keep meaning to charge it up, just for old time’s sake.

The wife needs a non-touchscreen phone and when her old ZTE became useless because it was only 3G enabled i bought a new $70 Nokia phone for her. Let me tell you this model is not as user-friendly as its forebears. TBH it’s a piece of shit but it was the only one for sale at Officeworks.

captain_spalding said:

Kingy said:

mollwollfumble said:

I find myself being dragged into the smart phone era.
I used to have a smart phone, an unlocked Samsung Galaxy, which I bought for under $100 and hardly ever used, so I ended up giving it away.

Now I find that smart phones cost a lot more. I’ve got to ask, a smart phone for over $2,000, is it diamond encrusted, or is it it designed to be safe when run over by a steamroller?

What should I look for in a smart phone? Got a favourite?

Caterpillar S61 or S62.

They are waterproof(underwater camera), they have a laser for measuring distance(or having fun with actual cats), have an infrared camera(really useful), have an air quality monitor, an air pressure gauge, altimeter, drop proof, big battery, can have an extra dual SIM, or an extra micro SD card, and also do all the things that all the other smart phones do.

OK, now i want one.

When I finish work and get back to the depot, I can just take my phone out and have a look around with it.

Ok, the brakes on that axle are not working.

One tire is half flat.

The water tank is nearly full.

The wheel bearing on the trailer is too hot, and needs grease.

The house gas bottle is nearly empty.

The overhead main fuel tank is getting low.

The small window near the toilet is losing most of the heat out of the house, and needs fixing, maybe double glazing.

And that’s just my day job. It is amazingly useful as a fire brigade tool, and it is in my pocket any time I need it.

I’ll post some pics from my phone shortly…

Woodie said:

Ask 100 people and you’ll get 200 different answers.

Is there any advantage in 5G? eg. will 4G be switched off in the future? – planned obsolescence.

What price on those Caterpillar phones?

captain_spalding said:

What price on those Caterpillar phones?

About $1200 Ish.

Kingy said:

captain_spalding said:

What price on those Caterpillar phones?

About $1200 Ish.

There might be a few of us interested in a toy .. er phone .. like that!

Do you reckon we could get a bulk discount for multiple buyers?

:)

One of the toys I was playing with.

A truck tire that was unimpressed.

Corona vaccination spot in a shoulder

Kingy said:

One of the toys I was playing with.

A truck tire that was unimpressed.

Corona vaccination spot in a shoulder

You don’t need a smart phone for the shoulder…just put your opposite hand on the area and you can feel the heat…

Looking up what Choice says about smart phones.

> if you still use your smartphone for making phone calls

Isn’t that how you’re supposed to make phone calls?

4G or 5G?

> Major carriers like Vodafone, Optus and Telstra

I use Amaysim or Exetel. Better value for money?

• If you use your phone as a camera, you may want to look for a model with a dedicated camera button rather than having to hunt through the menu system to capture the perfect selfie.
• An LED flash can be very useful too when you’re taking a photo with a mobile, especially when the available light isn’t very good.
• And if you look for a phone with a front-facing camera, this lets you use your phone for video calls as well. It also makes selfie-snapping considerably easier. Check out the selfie camera score which focuses on the performance of the front lens embedded in the screen rather than the main camera.

> The increased functionality of a smartphone with a large screen demands more power than a simple talk and text mobile. Check out the capacity of the battery for the phone you’re interested in and compare it to another mobile with a similarly sized display.

• Wideband Adaptive Multi-Rate (WB-AMR): Also known as HD Voice, this is a speech technology making it clearer and reducing background noise in the process.

• GPS: While most smartphones provide support for online map services like Google Maps, a dedicated GPS chip using an offline navigation application allows you to use your phone to find out exactly where you are without having to use your mobile phone network. The GPS score is calculated using the included software only. If you own an Apple iPhone or Android phone already, you can go to their online store and buy a car GPS app.

• Headphone connection type: A phone with a 2.5mm or 3.5mm jack will let you use a standard set of headphones to listen to music. Some of the latest iPhone and Android smartphones no longer provide a 3.5mm headphone jack; arguing that you should use a wireless headphone.

Prices (from Choice).

Alcatel 1S (2020) $79 – Is this 3G?
LG K42 $169
Nokia 2.4 $179
Motorola Moto g10 $199
Realme C21 $199

to be honest, I wait for every “New Release” of Apple Products
when all the uber-geeks Sell Their “LAST Newest” on e-Bay
do some research, choose how many gigs I really need
then join the pack rushing in & start my bidding……

Every Mac.com

…rinse & repeat for all my Apple Puters…

Ogmog,
I’m not a new adopter. I prefer technology that’s 2-3 years old in order to avoid those bleeding-edge problems, and to keep costs down.
My current mobile flip-phone is on a $5 a year plan. Last time I used it was August 2021.

—-
Smartphone Prices (from Choice).

Alcatel 1S (2020) $79 – Is this 3G?
LG K42 $169
Nokia 2.4 $179
Motorola Moto g10 $199
Realme C21 $199
—-

Anyone here uses sound when outside in movement – from an Android?

I used to use ear buds from a pocket radio when outside (eg gardening or working in garage) but that was a total pest because the power line kept snagging and pulling the radio out of my pocket. Are they OK now, or not?

Airpods or equivalent are supposed to only work well with Apple because of bandwidth, right or wrong?

Apparently fitbit works with both android and apple.

mollwollfumble said:

Ogmog,
I’m not a new adopter. I prefer technology that’s 2-3 years old in order to avoid those bleeding-edge problems, and to keep costs down.
My current mobile flip-phone is on a $5 a year plan. Last time I used it was August 2021.

—-
Smartphone Prices (from Choice).

Alcatel 1S (2020) $79 – Is this 3G?
LG K42 $169
Nokia 2.4 $179
Motorola Moto g10 $199
Realme C21 $199
—-

Anyone here uses sound when outside in movement – from an Android?

I used to use ear buds from a pocket radio when outside (eg gardening or working in garage) but that was a total pest because the power line kept snagging and pulling the radio out of my pocket. Are they OK now, or not?

Airpods or equivalent are supposed to only work well with Apple because of bandwidth, right or wrong?

Apparently fitbit works with both android and apple.

Second hand iPhone perhaps?
Would have to be an iPhone 7 or 8 or 8+. With 64 or 128 or 256 GB.

What would you bid for one?

(Hmmph, even iPhone 11 at $650 price new only has 64 GB)

Get one of these, they’re a good thing.
Xiaomi Poco X4 Pro

Good screen, camera, and battery.

Typical second hand prices for used iPhone
$350 for iPhone 8+ (bigger screen & telephoto camera)
$250 for iPhone 8

Spiny Norman said:

Get one of these, they’re a good thing.
Xiaomi Poco X4 Pro

Good screen, camera, and battery.

:-)

I looked that exact model up ! Then found not even a single example on ebay in my price range, they didn’t seem to exist.

Will try aliexpress. I see, I was looking at a lower price range.

OK, have bought it from aliexpress, closing thread. :-)

$426 dollars. A heluvalot for a phone. It’s not as if I can actually do any computing on it.

Whatever happened to the days when I could buy a Samsung galaxy new for under $100?

Mrs m is grumble grumble – not because of price but because manufactured in China. Ha.

mollwollfumble said:

Typical second hand prices for used iPhone
$350 for iPhone 8+ (bigger screen & telephoto camera)
$250 for iPhone 8

Spiny Norman said:

Get one of these, they’re a good thing.
Xiaomi Poco X4 Pro

Good screen, camera, and battery.

:-)

I looked that exact model up ! Then found not even a single example on ebay in my price range, they didn’t seem to exist.

Will try aliexpress. I see, I was looking at a lower price range.

OK, have bought it from aliexpress, closing thread. :-)

$426 dollars. A heluvalot for a phone. It’s not as if I can actually do any computing on it.

Whatever happened to the days when I could buy a Samsung galaxy new for under $100?

Mrs m is grumble grumble – not because of price but because manufactured in China. Ha.

You think $426 is a lot, have a look at a top-spec Apple iphone 13. Something like $2,500 or so.
They are quite good though.

Another good place to look for the best price on electronic gadgetry is staticice.com.au
Just find a phone that you like and search for it there. With buying anything overseas you also have to add 10% GST to it.

I got a Galaxy A03 for my boy for $145, and it seems fine.

mollwollfumble said:

Typical second hand prices for used iPhone
$350 for iPhone 8+ (bigger screen & telephoto camera)
$250 for iPhone 8

Spiny Norman said:

Get one of these, they’re a good thing.
Xiaomi Poco X4 Pro

Good screen, camera, and battery.

:-)

I looked that exact model up ! Then found not even a single example on ebay in my price range, they didn’t seem to exist.

Will try aliexpress. I see, I was looking at a lower price range.

OK, have bought it from aliexpress, closing thread. :-)

$426 dollars. A heluvalot for a phone. It’s not as if I can actually do any computing on it.

Whatever happened to the days when I could buy a Samsung galaxy new for under $100?

Mrs m is grumble grumble – not because of price but because manufactured in China. Ha.

Oops, was smart phone for under $100 but not Samsung galaxy.

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

Ogmog,
I’m not a new adopter. I prefer technology that’s 2-3 years old in order to avoid those bleeding-edge problems, and to keep costs down.
My current mobile flip-phone is on a $5 a year plan. Last time I used it was August 2021.

—-
Smartphone Prices (from Choice).

Alcatel 1S (2020) $79 – Is this 3G?
LG K42 $169
Nokia 2.4 $179
Motorola Moto g10 $199
Realme C21 $199
—-

Anyone here uses sound when outside in movement – from an Android?

I used to use ear buds from a pocket radio when outside (eg gardening or working in garage) but that was a total pest because the power line kept snagging and pulling the radio out of my pocket. Are they OK now, or not?

Airpods or equivalent are supposed to only work well with Apple because of bandwidth, right or wrong?

Apparently fitbit works with both android and apple.

Second hand iPhone perhaps?
Would have to be an iPhone 7 or 8 or 8+. With 64 or 128 or 256 GB.

What would you bid for one?

(Hmmph, even iPhone 11 at $650 price new only has 64 GB)

iPhone 8 unlocked

the reason there are so many available is because they aren’t throw-away shyte to begin with

I recommend you find an e-Bay closer to home to avoid exorbitant shipping/handling charges