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maxiewawa
Raver
Joined: July 10, 2004
Posts: 420
Status: Offline
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 Posted:
May 14, 2005 - 09:24 AM |
 
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| Post subject: New mobile phone. Any recommendations? |
I'm looking to get a new phone. Any recommendations? I'm looking for something with a camera, and one that can read/write 汉子。 Any recommendations? Anything to stay away from? |
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PhAt
Reacher
Joined: Apr 14, 2002
Posts: 259
Location: Dystopia
Status: Offline
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| Posted:
May 14, 2005 - 09:47 AM |
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valleygourmet2
Talker
Joined: Apr 25, 2005
Posts: 77
Status: Offline
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May 14, 2005 - 01:07 PM |
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Check out Expatauction.com. You'll find complete product information and some of the best prices in Shanghai. www.expatauction.com |
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benkloepfer
PopStar
Joined: Sep 02, 2004
Posts: 1042
Status: Offline
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May 14, 2005 - 01:54 PM |
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If you can afford it then buy a mobile phone from a US/european/japanese company. (Nokia, Motorola, Siemens, etc...)
The locally designed phones are definitely cheaper but the functionality and quality just isn't the same. My wife has a had a CECT for about six months now and we're about ready to throw it away (battery cover is broken, limited functions, no english user's manual).
It was only a few hundred RMB cheaper than my Nokia but just doesn't stack up against it.
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sinned69
SuperStar
Joined: Sep 01, 2004
Posts: 1532
Location: China, Middle East, Asia Pacific
Status: Offline
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May 14, 2005 - 02:04 PM |
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i would be very hestitant on buying a NEC and do not reccommend it.
i bought one here last year, expensive and loaded with features, including ability read/write 汉子. unfortunately the product was manufactured here [see my other posts concerning products manufactured within the mainland to understand the relevance] to cut a long story short, after 2 replacements for hardware failures, & integration with the net down right backward [no drivers with the shipped software for winXP even though it was sold with a retail pack proclaiming windows compatible in the latter part of 2004]. i found the customer service at the NEC customer support centre less than satisfactory (extremely). i subsequently didn't get a 3rd NEC [i will never by any NEC product again! after my experience with both the products and the company].
the retailer on the other hand were extremely helpful.
after getting no where with NEC i then bought 2 Nokias (here), and another from Europe. all of the Nokias have worked well, no problems at all. we have looked at local brands but im dubious about the support/quality.
my votes for Nokia or Samsung or Sony.
you can view all of these manufacturers online and compare their products with your own personal wants/needs
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qing nin shao deng |
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PhAt
Reacher
Joined: Apr 14, 2002
Posts: 259
Location: Dystopia
Status: Offline
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May 14, 2005 - 02:21 PM |
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Nokia and motorola make some of the best phones in the world. I think the older Nokia 8855, 8910, and newer 8910i are extremely handsome. |
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Andreas
Board Royalty
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 6753
Location: 31 N 121 E
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May 14, 2005 - 06:17 PM |
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maxiewawa
Raver
Joined: July 10, 2004
Posts: 420
Status: Offline
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May 14, 2005 - 09:15 PM |
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Does anyone reading this use a PDA? Can I upload a dictionary into one? |
_________________
Now I am become Maxiewawa, |
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cata
Barker
Joined: Jan 09, 2004
Posts: 185
Status: Offline
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May 15, 2005 - 12:15 AM |
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I recommend NOKIA, 6230 is a very good model.
My husband got one, and he's very happy with it.
I recommended it to friends, they both buy the same model and also happy with it.
Price should be lower than newer models by now.
I myself use SonyEricsson T610, it's tiny & ok but the function is limited.
I just don't want to pay for a new one now. I'll use it till broken.
I also have a PDA (HP IPAQ), the only good dictionary available now is
English to Chinese one by H&H,
it's really good.
For the Chinese to English, I wait for Peco's pocket pc version. |
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PhAt
Reacher
Joined: Apr 14, 2002
Posts: 259
Location: Dystopia
Status: Offline
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May 15, 2005 - 01:05 AM |
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Sony Ericsson P900i is a nice PDA phone... but extremely pricy. Treo 650 is also nice, cheaper than SE. |
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shang
Reacher
Joined: Nov 12, 2002
Posts: 200
Location: Shanghai!
Status: Offline
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May 15, 2005 - 01:35 AM |
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CECT released several Chinese handwriting recognition handsets this year. They're not bad, and much cheaper than Nokia's equivalent. Still, even Nokia's handwriting recognition phone doesn't work that well.
Every phone sold in China is capable of Chinese input, so no worries there.
I recommend a Nokia phone because they have the best reception and the best software compatability. However, they're annoying to switch between English and Chinese input and the new Nokias are ugly.
Motorola is a close second in terms of quality, but they're much better looking. Sony Ericssons are good phones, although reception is poor. But reception is not a problem in Shanghai.
I really have no problems with Chinese handsets. If you buy from a name brand, such as TCL, Bird, or Dopod, quality is generally as good as foreign brands. Nokia doesn't manufacture aany phones directly. I don't think Nokia designs any phones directly noadays. Most are ODM or OEM, and much of those are from Chinese companies. For example, TechFaith (a Chinese handset design house) is the original design manufacture (design and QA for manufacturing) for a lot of western handset brands. Bird is a big OEM for a lot of handset brands. So if you're going to buy a handset and use it in Chinese mode, there's no reason not to buy a top brand Chinese phone. |
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chinick
Barker
Joined: Sep 13, 2004
Posts: 171
Location: SH (as in s*** hole)
Status: Offline
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May 15, 2005 - 04:35 AM |
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concerning Andreas comment
why is it the norm to buy ''high-tech'' stuff in HK rather than directly in Shanghai?
Isn't there any large, reliable retailers in town carrying top brands and not just counterfeit products???
Is it just a pricing issue?
I'm moving in Shanghai in a couple of weeks, need to buy EVERYTHING (cell laptop blackberry...) and was hoping to get it all in Shanghai.
I'm going in HK later on anyway, do I really need to plan a few hours for electronics shopping? |
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dalc87
Reacher
Joined: June 04, 2004
Posts: 216
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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May 15, 2005 - 06:42 AM |
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China mobile is currently offering free phones with either a 2 or 3 year contract depending on your monthly fixed rate. I just got a sony s700 absolutely free by signing a 3 year contract. Check out the offer as it only runs until May 20th! |
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maxiewawa
Raver
Joined: July 10, 2004
Posts: 420
Status: Offline
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May 15, 2005 - 09:39 AM |
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I found a Nokia model with handwriting recognition and a Chinese/English dictionary. But no camera! Does anyone know of a phone that has both? |
_________________
Now I am become Maxiewawa, |
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maomaopuppy
Lurker
Joined: May 15, 2005
Posts: 20
Status: Offline
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May 15, 2005 - 11:34 AM |
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Have you got any phone yet? If not maybe we could think about making a deal? I have a spare phone Nokia3220 or Sony-Erricson506 which could type in Chinese (汉字). it is brand new. contact me if you're intersted. I'd offer a good price as it's a spare one for me. contact me maomaopuppy@hotmail.com if you're interested. thanks
Vivian |
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maxiewawa
Raver
Joined: July 10, 2004
Posts: 420
Status: Offline
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| Posted:
May 15, 2005 - 02:45 PM |
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I'm keen on the Nokia 6670. I can't find info on the Chinese version anywhere on the net, though. Does it have a dictionary? The guy at the shop seemed to think it did, but I wouldn't like to just take him on his word... |
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Now I am become Maxiewawa, |
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valleygourmet2
Talker
Joined: Apr 25, 2005
Posts: 77
Status: Offline
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May 15, 2005 - 05:15 PM |
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Hi Maciewawa, The Nokia 6670 does have an English and Chinese Dictionary.
Check out:
http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,8764,63961,00.html
or for pricing and details here in Shanghai
http://www.expatauction.com/cgi-bin/auction.pl?category=consumerelectr onics1&item=1116411170
I looked at the same phone but went with the motorola E680. I love it. With the right sims card, it includes email, sms, mms, mp3, video, .... the works.
http://www.expatauction.com/cgi-bin/auction.pl?category=consumerelectr onics1&item=1116649750
You can download any Java based dictionary off the internet then load it on the phone.
Good luck. |
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benkloepfer
PopStar
Joined: Sep 02, 2004
Posts: 1042
Status: Offline
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May 15, 2005 - 05:56 PM |
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shang,
I agree with you about CECT's and Nokia's
CECT is pretty cool on their pen. But most foreigners don't need or want the handwriting recognition because most all of them who can write 汉子 first learned chinese using pinyin. The hand writing recognition is only really useful for older chinese people who don't know pinyin.
It is a bummer though that Nokia requires you to switch the entire phone language in order to write chinese characters. Major pain in the @ss when you want to write a text message with mixed english/chinese.
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Impermanence
Talker
Joined: Nov 21, 2003
Posts: 88
Status: Offline
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| Posted:
May 15, 2005 - 08:55 PM |
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| chinick wrote: |
concerning Andreas comment
why is it the norm to buy ''high-tech'' stuff in HK rather than directly in Shanghai?
Isn't there any large, reliable retailers in town carrying top brands and not just counterfeit products???
Is it just a pricing issue?
I'm moving in Shanghai in a couple of weeks, need to buy EVERYTHING (cell laptop blackberry...) and was hoping to get it all in Shanghai.
I'm going in HK later on anyway, do I really need to plan a few hours for electronics shopping? |
To Asians like me, HK is indeed overrated in this board.
The concern is i guess pricing (is about 10-20% cheaper in HK), english product interface, warranty service (a bitch). Last but not least, haggling with the shopkeeper in mandarin.
If you can live without those problems above, you can consider getting yours herethe round trip ticket cost like what 3000 rmb at best this time around.
It's never worth it to buy merely electronics in HK just for the price, maybe only designer stuffs worth going to HK for (Asia wise). |
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sinned69
SuperStar
Joined: Sep 01, 2004
Posts: 1532
Location: China, Middle East, Asia Pacific
Status: Offline
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May 15, 2005 - 11:31 PM |
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| why is it the norm to buy ''high-tech'' stuff in HK rather than directly in Shanghai? |
the reason is simple. QUALITY. the QA of nearly all products made for sale on the mainland are far less than for the same product built for sale outside the mainland. some products in the orginal shipped boxes to retail stores often have a lable or sticker which reads 'NOT FOR RESALE OUTSIDE MANILAND CHINA' why -because of inferior build quality & materials used. i have first hand knowledge about this.
this partially explains why, ppl will purchase from outside mainland China when spending alot on a product. |
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qing nin shao deng |
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Impermanence
Talker
Joined: Nov 21, 2003
Posts: 88
Status: Offline
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May 16, 2005 - 08:35 AM |
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why -because of inferior build quality & materials used.
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The only example in which I can swallow your point is maybe computer graphic cards, I've seen ppl selling an ATI X800 radeon card that doesn't come with cooling solutions except for a small fan .... I'd agree this is poor quality made in china crap, that deserves it...
But if you are trying to say that for example a digital camera (consumer electronics), Sony DSC-T1 that is sold in China (lablled made in china) use inferior materials compared to the DSC-T1 that is sold in Singapore (labelled made in japan), i'm sorry to say that's a classic case of downplaying chinese products.
I have only first hand experience in operating both models and so far they both perform like ****, I can't tell which is which. |
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carrol
PopStar
Joined: Oct 11, 2004
Posts: 1122
Location: East of Eden
Status: Offline
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| Posted:
May 16, 2005 - 10:11 AM |
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I ordered my new phone from the following website, and got it delivered. Good service, and English manual!
www.mobilefun.co.uk |
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Carrol |
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sinned69
SuperStar
Joined: Sep 01, 2004
Posts: 1532
Location: China, Middle East, Asia Pacific
Status: Offline
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| Posted:
May 16, 2005 - 11:33 AM |
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<<double post>> |
Last edited by sinned69 on May 16, 2005 - 11:35 AM; edited 1 time in total |
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sinned69
SuperStar
Joined: Sep 01, 2004
Posts: 1532
Location: China, Middle East, Asia Pacific
Status: Offline
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| Posted:
May 16, 2005 - 11:33 AM |
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Impermanence in reply...
| Quote: |
Quote:
why -because of inferior build quality & materials used. |
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The only example in which I can swallow your point is maybe computer graphic cards, I've seen ppl selling an ATI X800 radeon card that doesn't come with cooling solutions except for a small fan .... I'd agree this is poor quality made in china crap, that deserves it...
But if you are trying to say that for example a digital camera (consumer electronics), Sony DSC-T1 that is sold in China (lablled made in china) use inferior materials compared to the DSC-T1 that is sold in Singapore (labelled made in japan), i'm sorry to say that's a classic case of downplaying chinese products. |
well im not refering to the small labels attached to the products themselves, and if you read my post again i wrote
| Quote: |
| original shipped boxes to retail stores often have a lable or sticker which reads 'NOT FOR RESALE OUTSIDE MANILAND CHINA' |
its not the label/sticker on the product which identifies the country of manufacture that i was referring to, it is a label/sticker attached to the packaging material that identifies that the product is made for resale either in or outside of MAINLAND CHINA.
products made here for consumption offshore are a different product generally than the ones for sale here
Sounds like you have got a lemon in terms or your Sony product, though if you have purchased the product from outside China then you have a far greater chance of getting service/replacement than for the same product bought here. ofcourse exceptions do occur.
Most Chinese consumers once they have purchased their product will simply throw the product away if it fails, rather than return it to the store of purchase (note I say most not all) and then go out to buy a another replacement product. Ofcourse things are slowly changing in terms of expectations of service -but it still has a long way to go.
as for your comment about downplaying Chinese products. in my line of work i have had seen much of what chinese companies can and do put together in many different industries. this has left me with no illusion about their ability and QA or lack thereof, a view shared by my Chinese colleagues. Still i (we) give many (local) companies/suppliers a fair chance to pitch their product or service, even if it is a company that fell short of the mark previously. after all doing so saves us alot of capital if we can buy locally rather than having to import. the unforuntate reality is that many of the suppliers fall short, even when we have decided to go ahead and try them anyway. i and the company have learnt the hard way. I have a solid basis for my views/assumptions! -im not talking about comparing 2 sony cameras. |
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qing nin shao deng |
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Impermanence
Talker
Joined: Nov 21, 2003
Posts: 88
Status: Offline
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| Posted:
May 16, 2005 - 02:06 PM |
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well im not refering to the small labels attached to the products themselves
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I know that, my point is even the best of QA doesn't help in terms of design defect.
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I have a solid basis for my views/assumptions! -im not talking about comparing 2 sony cameras.
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OK, I'm not going to argue with you about your knowledge on chinese production process, clearly you understand better. I also buy my consumer electronics in HK or Singapore or even better USA whenever I can, all I'm trying is to do is to downplay Andreas constant HK comment, you DONT go to Hongkong simply to get a Nokia cellphone....the same garbage made from used plastic bottles collected on the street here in china or imported from Indonesia filthy waste dump.... End up the same HK, Europe, China, where so ever....
Now, I'm actually more interested in knowing about inferiority. I have not seen two comparable consumer electronics made by a well established multinational (sony,etc) sold here being lesser in terms of build quality & material compared to the ones sold abroad as you claimed. Im currently holding my friend's nokia (bought here) playing with it trying to spot the inferior material and evidence of poor build quality that you stated. You see, knowing that chinese products are sloppily produced is one thing, but how do you explain the conformity of those multinational products?
Now about those labelling "NOT FOR SALE OUTSIDE CHINA", imho it's more about tackling the black market problems. On topic with the HK laptop buying fuss:
1.In China you can buy HK black market laptop (shui huo) that is cheaper , and to those who advocate buy in HK dogma, here is a fact, in HK you can buy US black market laptops, with US price (cheaper than HK prices). So you see, the right dogma should be get it in the US!!!
2.In recent yrs, manufacturers release many alerts regarding buying products that doesnt have proper serial numbering, by selling products designated for different markets distributors can undercut links to cut cost. Since China is the manufacturing country, it's easy to guess that the culprit is somewhere here, hence the labelling. |
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