Smartphone in Crisis?

[Guest idavid]

It's come to my attention that Smartphones on networks are few and far between at the moment.

I'm using a Hermes at the moment but am really keen on something a little smaller.

If you want a Smartphone now you're limited to the C600 on orange which is at least a year old or the Lobster on Virgin. can anyone shed any light on this? I'm hoping the Dash will appear on T-Mobile soon but that's about it really... pretty disappointing given the number of handsets in the rest of the world.

Edit - even the Modaco shop only sells a single Smartphone (C600)...

Edited February 22, 2007 by idavid

[Guest Buddhaah]

It's come to my attention that Smartphones on networks are few and far between at the moment.

I'm using a Hermes at the moment but am really keen on something a little smaller.

If you want a Smartphone now you're limited to the C600 on orange which is at least a year old or the Lobster on Virgin. can anyone shed any light on this? I'm hoping the Dash will appear on T-Mobile soon but that's about it really... pretty disappointing given the number of handsets in the rest of the world.

idavid,

I think it goes deeper than that. Not only are smartphones not represented in larger numbers, they also are fraught with instability (prime example: Vario II's issue with 3G/GSM handover, crashes, etc.), bad build quality ("paint flaking"), sync issues (as far as WinMob handsets are concerned Activesync is as stable as the Italian government). Add to that the limitations imposed by the networks on unlimited data use (3 has relatively stringent usage quotas, Vodafone's data tariff is a joke on wheels, T-Mob restricts VOIP, streaming media, usage of the Smartphone as modem on its lowest data tariff, charges arm and leg for its higher tariffs).

Having lurked around this forum for a while, read about the VarioII's shortcomings (which I, personally, consider to be MASSIVE), I am tempted to go Nokia E61, in order to avoid the drawbacks associated with more "advanced" smartphones.

So, yes: Smartphones definitely in crisis.

BTW: Check out THIS thread: http://www.mobiholics.com/index.php?showto...mp;#entry806152

Budd

Edited February 22, 2007 by Buddhaah

[Guest chucky.egg]

@Buddhaah

The phones you mention are PocketPC Phone Editions, not Smartphones.

The OP appears to be looking for a non-touch screen device, which is a different beast. Most of the issues you mention don't apply to Smartphones for one reason or another.

I'm hanging on for a Vox or a Blackjack myself, but I may well buy unbranded rather than waiting for the networks to release them.

[Guest simon211175]

While it's true that smartphones don't get much support direct from the networks - T-Mobile and Orange offering rebranded versions, but new smartphones take far too long to reach the stores - you can pretty much get most of the newer smartphones direct from online stores who sell them sim-free OR with a contract (from my experience usually only Vodafone and O2 are prepared to do this).

For example, check out the Mteor or S620 at expansys.com or phones2udirect.co.uk - both available on contract, although the choice isn't as varied as it would be for other phones there is still a choice.

It would be nice though to have them readily available from the networks though.

[Guest kiran_mk2]

I think the problem is that the main WM manufacturers are starting to push the PPC devices such as Hermes and Trinity towards businesses. This leaves the smartphones without a real customer. Out of all my friends I'm the only one interested in a smartphone. This is made worse when Nokia have the N73 smartphone which boasts one of the 2 best cameras currently in phones.

The HTC Vox looks like an amazing phone, but on closer inspection it's just a C600 with a qwerty keyboard and WM6. If we were getting the Wings now (with HSDPA and gps built in) then maybe WM smartphones would have a chance, but as it is it looks like Wings will give Nokia's N95 a 6 month head start.

[Guest idavid]

Fear not everybody, the crisis has passed. I"ve just ordered an MDA Mail (Dash) on T-mobile. hopefully i'll get it tomorrow! it was free too. ;)

[Guest Toyota-F1.com]

The HTC S310 (HTC Oxygen, also known as Orange SPV C100, but sold as HTC S310) is available here for £139.99 + £10 top-up from an Orange shop, on pay as you go. And, they have them in stock because a member of staff brought one out, switched it on etc.

[Guest JesusDoesVegas]

its pretty crappy in the US as well. People here love those blackberry things though... Also the razor, which is infuriating (the buttons are so damn impossible to push)

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

I agree, the Smartphone market really needs a kick.

The Vox looks nice, the Samsung i600 is cool, but we need more 'traditional style' devices. Where's all the sliders, flips etc? The other manufacturers seem to be able to ship new ones every other week ;)

P

[Guest tawse57]

Here are my two cents...

I think more and more people, certainly general users, are using the term 'smartphone' to identify a device that is akin to a mobile phone and a small PC so we really need to learn that the majority - i.e. the public - will win out in the terminology stakes and not a minority of 'geeks' on a bulletin board. ;)

Anyhow, there is a major problem with these phones which makes me assume that the telcos just do not want to have them here in the UK. Other countries seem to have no problems getting the latest phones both quickly and in sufficient numbers. I keep reading on sites like msmobiles about phones going to be released at the end of the year and I just think "What is the point?" - after all, if they get released this Autumn then we will most likely not see them in the UK until the Spring of next year. What a joke!

I think the issues of reliability, build quality and the telco data plans are all big draw-backs. Everytime I look at the M3100 in my local Orange shop I think it is going to fall apart by just myself looking at it. I can't say much for most of of the MS Mobile devices and when you compare the Blackberry build quality to many of them the MS Mobile devices just feel plastic. I am getting to the point where I am tempted to get a Blackberry.

I want to buy the Samsung Blackjack but no telco in the UK appears to sell it. Expanys have it for over 400 quid and whilst I am tempted to buy it and keep it for 3 or 4 years I know, in truth, the phone will be out of date before the year is up. Not a sensible option.

In conclusion, the more I look into MS Mobile phones in the UK the more I am inclined to think that they are just not 'here' yet and it is easier, cheaper and less stressful to buy an 'ordinary' phone for the next few years.