Full internet access on a mobile?

leosayer39

I need a new mobile phone and would like to be able to get FULL internet access on it, (or as full as I can get)

I would also like to be able to access my 'web' based e mail accounts on it.

Anyway, can any of you recomend any particular phone model or network.

I really dont mind which network I have to use to get the best connection.

I have just had a look at t mobiles 'web n walk' internet access but it doesnt say if you can use the phone to get to your web based e mail accounts. they also include 40mb of browsing in their monthly price plans. Is this good value?

Here is a link for their web n walk web page

http://www.tmobile.co.uk/Dispatcher?menuid=phones_im_wnw_what

Do any of the other mobile phone service providers have any better deals?

I look forward to your comments

Leo

smcicr

'full' is a bit of a grey word when it comes to internet access on mobiles:

* if it implies 'a pc like experience' then it's not out there to be had yet imo. even the biggest screened wifi pda's are a compromise if you're trying to use them as pc's to browse the net.

* if it implies 'unrestricted' then that's available - with limitations. as above, certain sites just aren't going to work, it's a simple matter of size and complexity (speed can no longer be considered an issue imo) but there are providers who won't stop you from accessing the internet 'proper' as opposed to a predecided, enforced subset of it.

as for the email, i suspect that pda's will be able to cope with accessing web based email directly through the sites - in some cases though you may well have to settle for using the inbuilt application on the device (most likely a smartphone) to collect the mail onto the device (if you end up doing this then look for a setting that will allow you to just download headers rather than the full email - will save your MB's).

there is no simple answer to this, some devices are only available on some networks and those networks may or may not offer the best allowances / access...

if you intend to use the device primarily as a mobile internet tool then get the biggest screen you can find, it's probably going to mean that you have a less pretty 'phone' but c'est la vie.

check the business packages for the providers as these often include web access in more sizable chunks than the usual tariffs. (and you don't have to be a business to get them in most cases) also look for things like vodafone's deal where you get a mix of minutes / sms and web access but the clever bit being any sms you don't use you can convert into web access.

the t-mobile package offers a lot of web access (40MB is one of the highest i've seen) but if you are emailing a lot and surfing a lot then it's feasible you could use a good deal of that - only you can know how much you will really use.

so:

big screen
make sure the provider actually allows access to the full web and not just a 'walled garden'
check the business tariffs
check the costs of going over the allowance as these vary and until you generate some usage patterns it's possible you will exceed the allowance

if it were me i'd try and work out if the extra bulk was worth it - can you tone down your web needs so that a smartphone would be sufficient rather than a pda - they don't make great phones from experience.

(last thing - some of the payg tariffs offer unlimited browsing for a set amount a day - orange does it for £1 i think - if you HAVE to have the best web experience possible then maybe look at a seperate device dedicated just to that on a payg sim?)

ultrak3wl

If you want "full" internet access you are going to need a laptop that uses your mobile phone as a modem. Any phone+network combo that gives you GPRS internet access will provide this. So long as you have a reasonable signal you can hardly tell you are not using a landline dialup. Until the bill comes in that is...

leosayer39

Hi all,

Thanks for all your comments, they are most helpful.

I am really after a phone, which I can use as a phone, and in addition be able to connect to the internet.

I don't really care if the phone isn't pretty. Just wanna be able to do a bit of surfin from time to time, view my e mails, view MSE (most important) and not much else really.

I dont want to use the phone as a modem in order to connect a laptop or seperate PDA to the internet. I do want an 'all in one' device.

I assume from your comments that a 'Smartphone' would possibly be the answer. I will go and have another look at the T Mobile website and post a few links on here in order that you can comment further.

I m afraid to say that I like 'Gadgets'. I'm just that sort of person. I don't think that it's an illness. :-)

Leo

Edit : What do you think of this little lot

http://www.tmobile.co.uk/Dispatcher?menuid=weboffers_personal_web_n_walk

smcicr

having had a brief scan of the link i'd say based on your comments that the n70 is probably your best bet.

it ticks the gadget box pretty heavily (see the nokia site for function out of the box and check out more pure mobile phone forums to see what else you can download for it)
it's a phone WITH the extra features rather than anything else

a friend has just got one and is already using the included apps and trickery - i got a photo slideshow set to music that he put together then sent to my email from the phone.

if at all possible get hold of one beforehand and have a look at the sites you'd want to use it on - mse (and forums in general) are pretty heavy in terms of visuals (ie: there's a lot going on, not necessarily heavy in terms of page size in kb) and i fear it will be a bit clunky even on the n70. as long as that's ok for you then go for it otherwise you'll be sat with a lot of data allowance and nothing to use it on!

leosayer39

Hi all,

What do you think about this

http://www.tmobile.co.uk/Dispatcher?menuid=webnwalk200_sidekick

Does anybody own one or know anybody with one. Does anyone know anything about this device

Cheers

Leo

seaniboy

ultrak3wl wrote:

If you want "full" internet access you are going to need a laptop that uses your mobile phone as a modem. Any phone+network combo that gives you GPRS internet access will provide this. So long as you have a reasonable signal you can hardly tell you are not using a landline dialup. Until the bill comes in that is...

no on Orange payg its £1 a day unlimited access on gprs, great on my laptop

wigginsmum

I've got the Nokia 9300 on Vodafone, and to be honest I've given up using it for the net. It's incredibly slow and just too much hassle; all the pages take absolutely ages to load and I got fed-up having to scroll left and right to read it all.

Jules

Andy_Harris_2

I have had a few of these types of phone, as I needed to check my business e.mail accounts, and a hotmail account, and have my Outlook etc too, I had a SPV M2000 on Orange, which was great, I still have it if you want to make me an offer !, as I have upgraded to the M5000, big screen, WiFi, POP3, web surf, mp3 player, has a 3.5mm jack out to connect to speakers, or disco in my case, can active sync with my server via 3G, GPRS or Wi Fi. Great bit of kit.

WelshTust

If you want speed go for a 3G handset, with Orange the best coverage and access, Three have a walled Garden, where you can only access what they want and the rest have poor coverage, I Mode on O2, is very quick but basic again, the N70 or 6680 are great phones and 3G, so very quick loading pages, Google even has its own mobile search engine.